Julien Playoust
Landscape, Existence

Julien Playoust
Landscape, Existence

4 to 27 April 2024
Curated by David Fairbairn and Suzanne Archer

The work of artist Julien Playoust delves into the tactile dimensions of landscape and human existence. Fissured, contoured landscapes echo in nuanced faces, portraying themes of frailty, uncertainty and loss. His landscapes and portraits unveil unconscious revelations, capturing the energy and essence of a place — an exploration of the soul through dynamic interplays.

Inspired by artists like Bacon, Guston, and Diebenkorn, Playoust prioritizes the visceral experience over aesthetic likeness. This inaugural solo show reflects Playoust’s many years of creative exploration and passion for the arts.

Opening event with David Fairbairn and Steve Lopes
Saturday 6 April, 2 – 4 pm

Landscape, Existence I, Ghosts in the landscape, 2020-21

oil and charcoal on board, 40 x 60.5 cm

Landscape II, 2021

oil on canvas board, 61 x 51 cm

The Landscape Codex: 5. Old Man, family group & trees, 2019

graphite, chalk, pastel, gouache, sepia and watercolour on paper, 30 x 84 cm

Four trees and a stump, 2019

charcoal, 30 x 42 cm

The Landscape Codex: 13. Sentinel: Dead wood overlooking our country in volatile times, I, 2022

oil, ink and encaustic wax on book binders board, 34 x 46 cm

Mother Landscape, 2021

oil on board, 40 x 30 cm

Remnants XIII. The Watcher,2022

conte crayon, sepia and gouache on Canal papier, 26 x 36 cm

Drawing my dad: To day, 2023

charcoal on paper, 76 x 56.5 cm

Yield another meal, the space between ambivalence and sustenance, 2021

oil on bookbinder's board, 60 x 42 cm

Bush parable #1: Laughing in the face of decay (Happiness goes to heaven thru those hills...), 2023,

oil and charcoal on Arches, 76 x 57 cm

Codex 1, Standing by the road just out of Dalby, 2020

charcoal on paper, 41 x 31 cm

Dad portrait, 17 July 2023, 2023

oil on canvas on board, 51 x 41 cm

Images courtesy and © the artist
Installation photography Richard Glover