Today, Saturday, we have an appointment with Luc Lanier in his gallery located exactly on rue des deux porches in the center of Brive.
Despite its size, the gallery is surprisingly full of a large number of art works : paintings and sculptures for the most part. This spot was laid out by Luc and Thierry (sculptor) in 2018. But, it should be said straight away, the gallery is not just a gallery: it is also a workshop for Luc. On this point, the term “workshop” appears more than adequate because we paint, we sculpt there, we also exchange everything, we meet people and we can even have an aperitif on Saturday noon!
Luc emphasizes that this place is not just a window to sell works. No.
This place has its origins in the desire to create links, to take pleasure in meeting other people, in taking or giving advice of all kinds.
Luc even admits that he sometimes gives painting lessons for free. Both amateurs and novices can even participate in the creation of a canvas, depending on the occasion.
Luc adds: “people don’t dare to paint on my canvases. I encourage them to do it because even if we do “badly”, we can still making up. The important thing is to do but, after all, why not to do together ! “
This is why we can say that La petite galerie is genuinely an alternative place.
In fact, just in front of the studio workshop, there was a large stand allowing Luc to hang large, still blank linen canvases. Thus, it often happens to him to paint in the street under the gaze of passers-by who, on occasion, or at Luc’s request, pick up the brush.
“These are magical moments, he confides, the pleasure of contact. Time seems suspended: there is no more work, no more worries. Everything is unpretentious, we want to go back to simple things: we sing or we play the harmonica! “
From a professional point of view, Luc has done a thousand jobs: firefighter in Paris, parachutist, entrepreneur with more than 10 employees and, now, window cleaner for traders and individuals. Although originally from Bourgogne, Luc lived for a long time in Bretagne where he had already created a painting gallery, Le fou du roi, near Pont Aven. He owes his taste for art and painting thanks to his father, a painter and also a sculptor.
« I started painting on my father’s lap – that’s the story ! »
Coming back to his art, the artist’s painting is not abstract but figurative. This is not his style. He works with the weight of the material, he tells us, because he likes to load the paint, l’empâtement, in order to create volume, reliefs and shadows. Quite the opposite of the so-called “licking” technique.
As for his favorite subjects, it’s pretty simple: it’s boats! However, he admits to being really fascinated by the industrial world. Industrial gigantism literally subjugates him because it is a creation of the man who surpasses him: « Sometimes I have the same dream: hearing Coltrane ’s music, rust everywhere…of course, the saxophone could hardly contains its fury!… »
The activity of sculptor started recently. Indeed, it was while helping one of his friends to collect litter in the wild that he found himself with a significant amount of metals. Not knowing what to do with them, he had the idea to create boats! In short, it is a recycling waste.
Go out Brive recommends , rue des deux porches, for the pleasure of looking and meeting with Luc Lanier, a rare colorful one.
