Painter
The French artist Marlene Mocquet, 33, graduated with honors from Ecole des Beaux Arts in 2006 and has been very successful ever since.
She began to paint at the age of 14: when she could not summon the words to express herself, she used paint. And still does.
Her works are displayed regularly at art fairs and exhibitions as well as at galleries abroad, including in Brussels, Hong Kong and Chicago. She has transposed the dreamlike universe depicted in her canvases — strange, otherworldly and surrealistic, peopled with enigmatic characters, unicorns, snails, mushrooms and birds – to the twelve plates that she has created for Bernardaud.
She is represented by the Haunch of Venison Gallery.
About the Collection
“I don’t like to eat alone. When I’m invited out to dinner, it’s a pleasure for me, because I know there will be interaction. When I’m by myself, I eat looking at my fridge.
I relate to food at the emotional level.
When I accepted Bernardaud’s invitation, I had to let go and, for the first time, accept that my work would continue to evolve, but wouldn’t be able to control that evolution. It inspired me to think that people would be eating in my paintings. It would be like a discussion with the person about to discover the landscape or the history of the dish, because each dish has a history.
I painted directly onto the plates, just as I do with my canvases. I prepare random, improbable mixtures of organic substances and watch the changes as they dry. I like mixtures and transformations. It’s paradoxical, but I cook at my studio, but not at home! This project has gotten me thinking about how I relate to food, about the person that is going to eat the food in my plate and how I will succeed in nourishing that person. For the first time, I prepared food for myself, a real dish, composing food on the plate to look nice. I took care of myself.”
Dinner Plates
