Malgré la différence
2009
Acrylic on canvas
97 x 130 cm (38 3/16 x 51 3/16 in.)
Two figures stand out against a red backdrop. Only their eyes are visible because one is wearing a black burqa and the other the Ku Klux Klan's white hood and robe.
Even though the motifs are easily recognizable in their powerful symbolism, the challenge for the artist is not controversy but painting itself. Without taking position, Raphäelle Ricol associates here what she considers to be formal echoes. She does so with candor and simplicity, including in her pictorial technique based on large swathes of color and a bare composition that underline the flatness of the canvas. As in this work, Raphëlle Ricol's painting is humorous and often verges on the caricature. Modest but not naive, she highlights the absurd of some situations that arise in our society.
Held in the Pinault Collection, Malgré la différence was presented in the group show À Triple tour. Collection Pinault (“triple locked”) at the Paris Conciergerie, in 2013.
Even though the motifs are easily recognizable in their powerful symbolism, the challenge for the artist is not controversy but painting itself. Without taking position, Raphäelle Ricol associates here what she considers to be formal echoes. She does so with candor and simplicity, including in her pictorial technique based on large swathes of color and a bare composition that underline the flatness of the canvas. As in this work, Raphëlle Ricol's painting is humorous and often verges on the caricature. Modest but not naive, she highlights the absurd of some situations that arise in our society.
Held in the Pinault Collection, Malgré la différence was presented in the group show À Triple tour. Collection Pinault (“triple locked”) at the Paris Conciergerie, in 2013.
Exhibitions
Raphaëlle RICOL © Adagp, Paris.
Photo: Philippe Fuzeau
