"Ceci n'est Pas Une Image!" by Philippe Lejeune at Yellow Peril

Providence, RI, February 25, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Yellow Peril Gallery is pleased to announce Ceci n’est pas une image! by Pawtucket-based multimedia French artist Philippe Lejeune, featuring a range of symbolon spanning a 50-year period that challenges the identity of images and symbols, from March 19 – April 30, 2016. The exhibition will showcase Lejeune’s current meditative sculptural works and installations on plywood, glass and video, in addition to earlier career-defining etchings, paintings and sculpture cut-outs created after his apprenticeship under the world-renowned Belgian graphic artist Jean-Michel Folon.

Ceci n’est pas une image! will survey Lejeune’s artistic progression from printmaking and sculpture to painting and then installation, specifically scrutinizing the definition of ‘image’. After receiving a solid academic training at The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France, he worked as an engraver for the Atelier Mario Boni and then seven years with Folon as engraver, translating Folon’s vision into the medium of print and gaining an international reputation for his mastery of Aquatint Technique.

Symbolon refers to image making, the purpose of images through the use of different mediums. Lejeune’s constant desire to evolve his artistic practice is what drives his mode of inquiry into the relationship of images and its symbolic quality and raison d'être in contemporary culture and the human condition.

“Working with trees becomes a way to reveal the nature of the material and redefines the symbol as an object of agreement that exists, to be the accordance of the minds and the reunification of the subjects,” he explains. “Working with neutral media like glass focuses on the viewer more than the artistic expression. Essentially, the image is beneficial because it is symbolic, and like a paradox, it fuels the imagination and questions what is real.”

Lejeune’s site-specific installations challenge the viewer’s perceptions by juxtaposing reality with virtual images, blurring the line between “what is” and “what is not.” He is presently working to develop the “Glass Project,” a new approach to images in real spaces and in real-time, and applying his tree renderings on manufactured wood in both public and private spaces. Since relocating to Pawtucket from Boston in 2014, he has presented these installations and art performances throughout the region that provoke the public to be more physically engaged. “I prefer to work more toward social issues we face today and less within the art market,” he says.

The opening reception for Ceci n’est pas une image! is Saturday, March 19, from 6PM – 9PM. A special performance by the artist will be presented on Saturday, April 9, from 7PM – 9PM. The exhibition will conclude Saturday, April 30. This is Lejeune’s first solo exhibition at Yellow Peril. Previously, he has presented with the gallery at Craftland Gallery, New Bedford Art Museum and Jamestown Arts Center.

About Philippe Lejeune
Philippe Lejeune was born in Garches, France in 1951. In 1970, he gained entrance to the Academie Julian in Paris. In 1971, he was accepted at the ENSAD (Ecole Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs) in Paris. There he studies engraving under Yves Heude and Marcel Fiorini. From 1974-76, he apprenticed at the printmaking studio Mario Boni, Paris, where he met the renowned illustrator Jean-Michel Folon, who invited him to work with him. From 1977-84, he was Folon’s engraver, translating Folon’s vision into the medium of print; gaining an international reputation for his mastery of Aquatint Technique. Prints exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, for a show titled “Folon’s Folon.” In 1984, Philippe moved to Westport, Connecticut, where he became an etching artist in his own right, published exclusively by Cavliero Fine Arts in New York. In 1987, he branched into painting and sculpture, exploring the relationship of primary colors within space. Between 1988 and 1992, he was commissioned to create outdoor aluminum sculptures for private estates and public spaces, both in the US and France. The city of Stamford commissioned seven wood, glass, and mirror pieces for the Bank Street Program at the Toquam School. In 1992, he returned to France, where he developed a new approach. Site-specific installations challenged the viewer’s perceptions by juxtaposing reality with virtual images, blurring the line between “what is” and “what is not.” He was invited to experiment with these concepts at the Centre d’Art Contemporain de la Ferme du Buisson in Marne-la Vallee, as well as in schools, museums and public spaces in and around Paris, using his art as a teaching tool for expanding the awareness of children and adults alike. In 1996, he moved with his family to Cape Cod and started quietly painting trees on plywood. In 1998, in addition to the plywood forest, Philippe presented Le Cube, an innovative concept in interactive art education, which was used in the French school system. Since 1999, has been experimenting with the new digital technology within the traditional photographic approach, transforming still images into virtual animations. From 1999 – 2011 was an adjunct Art Teacher at Cape Cod Community College. Also created and taught hybrid online art classes and a video blogging class. 2010 – presently working fulltime developing the “Glass Project,” a new approach to Images in real spaces and in real-time. For more info about Philippe Lejeune, visit www.projeqt.com/tiil.