Thierry Fazian in his studio The wondrous existentialist symbolism of Thierry Fazian’s mixed media paintings and collages owes its spectacular hybridity, in part, to the place where he has lived his whole life: the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. As he puts it: “The place where I'm living is a crossroad full of beauty and paradox.” That statement proves a fitting description of his art, too, which melds a series of artistic influences, stories and media into mystical visions and the occasional abstraction. Trying to enumerate the various facets of his work is virtually impossible, so complex is the network of influences and allusions woven through each piece, but two dominant styles and iconographies are unmistakable: European surrealism and Caribbean mysticism. The bright and color-saturated worlds Fazian depicts are populated by elongated human silhouettes, many adorned with drum-shaped heads after certain Caribbean folk traditions. It’s a world of surreal desert landscapes, floating orbs of light and astrological symbolism. Bold blues and greenish yellows dominate most pieces, suggesting a cool, infinite depth, and glowing heat. Fazian applies his acrylic paints in even and smooth brushstrokes, creating a sleek surface that he then embosses and embeds with other objects and media.

Stones, wood, metal and glass—whether circular or disjointed and irregular—lend many works a spectacularly rich and complex texture, which stands in compelling contrast to the smooth depths of space his paints depict. In the end, Fazian’s spectacular visions of stylized human bodies alongside celestial forms or inhabiting mythical landscapes offer a harmonious synthesis of the dazzling confluence of cultures and traditions integral to his Caribbean identity. There’s a distinctly tropical sheen to his bold, saturated palette. The human figures that walk and float through his compositions, meanwhile, evoke the emaciated bodies of art nouveau paintings as much as Creole deities. His lush settings, alternately brilliant color fields and sparse desert mesas, suggest a phantasmagoric mythology. Above all else, Fazian’s exquisite and intriguing universe invites us to explore and discover its mysterious depths.

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