September 13 – Otober 8, 2023 – Madrid at GARNAART GALLERY

Gärna Art Gallery is pleased to present “I Feel like Pablo”, Florent Stosskopf´s first solo exhibition at the gallery. On view from September 13th to October 8th, the exhibition debuts a series of paintings that pay homage to the most celebrated visual artist of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso, the year that marks the 50th anniversary of his death.
The show presents a series of paintings that represent a shift in his creative approach, away from figurative still lives and interior compositions toward an experimentation of styles and techniques that are deeply influenced by Picasso´s evolution from a classic visual language to surrealism (1924-1939).

From the start of his artistic practice, Stosskopf´s work has drawn on both the art historical canon and digital age aesthetics (he´s a former graphic designer), combining the hues of avant – garde artists.

In the new series of works, the artist still merges references from art history, his memories, flowers, guitars and portraits… objects and settings that compose the fabric of his life. We can recognize the profound influence the Spanish artist has left on Stosskopf as he makes explicit references to Picasso´s paintings by reproducing them in his own way, not as a form of appropriation, but out of profound respect and affection for his master, creating a genuine intimacy between both.

Although Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, he spent four decades of his life in France and has been protagonist of countless exhibitions and tributes by his adoptive country. In this case, Stosskopf, born and raised in France, is invited to Madrid for what is to be his first show in Spain, maintaining the rich exchange of artistic talent, inspiration and creativity between both countries for the last century.

The exhibition will also comprise some “bodegones”, in which the French artist very subtly transforms still life into a portrait of the human psyche, by allowing the objects to narrate the entire story of their owners.

Although Stosskopf never went to art school, he began painting and sketching early on. His style is characterized by intense brush strokes, densely patterned backgrounds and bright, vivid colours giving the surfaces a collaged-like composition. Even though we can perfectly recognize the artist´s very own signature aesthetic, the new series of works are characterized by a much more surrealist visual expression that creates timeless compositions.

“I feel like Pablo” marks an important stage in Stosskopf´s evolution from figuration to a more abstract language that opens up a new path, referring to this period as a “before and after” in his artistic career and allowing a new pictorial vocabulary by exploring ideas of belonging, identity, inheritance, tradition and disruption.