| The first impression is of sincerity and conscience.
We feel that Mr. Pierre Girieud is only concerned with expressing his inner truth and this single concern already attracts sympathy. Then, upon examination, we realize that this truth is of value. An intimate nobility, I was going to write a modest nobility, as the idea of ??pomp and pageantry must be discarded here, emerges naturally from his paintings. Whether it is nudes (there is a particularly good one) or landscapes, we feel the painter moved, enamored, enthusiastic and at the same time modest. When modesty is added to enthusiasm it is very rare that we are not in the presence of a harmonious balance. This is what is happening here. The art of Mr. Pierre Girieud is harmoniously balanced.
This means that this art is very much from here. I heard yesterday at the Weill gallery pronounce the word classic.
No doubt, Mr. Pierre Girieud is classic, and what I have just said explains it enough: it must still be specified that it is not traditional. I thus intend to reserve the quality of its sensitivity which is current, more current in fact than that of so many painters who seek personality either by rowdy means, or by laboratory formulas easily assimilated and within the reach of all those who want to be outwardly fashionable ... It is from within that Mr. Girieud is of this time; I add that it is, in my opinion, the only way to be with the chances of sustainability. |