Life is a story of encounters and emotions. I was impressed by Gabriel Colliard’s singular sensitivity and innovation in the practice of his art, from the composition of new colors to the discovery of new subtle effects.
-Xavier Rousset
Life is a story of encounters and emotions.
I was impressed by Gabriel Colliard’s singular sensitivity and innovation in the practice of his art, from the composition of new colors to the discovery of new subtle effects.
-Xavier Rousset
Dial : Yellow macaw, red macaw
Collection : Nature
Dimensions : Ø 41mm
Materials : Enamel powder (metal oxides), flux, essential oils.
Miniature painting on Grand Feu enamel
“There is a temporality in my work that allows me to deepen the meaning of my approach.”
After graduating in Fine Arts at the National University of Cordoba in Argentina, Gabriel Colliard discovered watchmaking by working as a polisher. He then became passionate about the art of enamelling.
After training as an enamel artist in Limoges, he worked for 10 years in luxury watchmaking before becoming an independent artisan and being able to fully express his sensitivity and creativity in his works.
Arts and structure
For Gabriel Colliard, Plastic arts must emerge from a significant structural order. In his paintings, he uses the shape of a «triangle», which he converts into a frame module to obtain, with simple changes of orientation, a different perception. This process led to his interest in pre-Columbian abstraction.
Playing with light
Gabriel Colliard uses his experience in painting restoration to play on the subtlety and brightness of colors. The «Trateggio» process consists in juxtaposing pure colours into a network of very fine verticals uniformly placed on a white putty to obtain the same colour and tone values. Line by line, a perceptible and changing surface appears. The chromatic turns into a set of simultaneous contrasts that give body to a vibrant frame.
Put to the test by fire
An infinity of nuances can be obtained with miniature painting on enamel. Vitrifiable paints are kneaded together with essential oil to obtain an oily paste. The colour setting is done by successively applying gradually accentuated shades, interspersed with firings. During the last firing, all or part of the art risks to be irreparably erased from the base. The piece fully reveals itself only once cooled.
Enamel: an art of a thousand faces
Cloisonné, painted, champlevé, and paillonné… Gabriel Colliard admirably masters all facets of the age-old know-how of enamelling. However, he does not limit this art to traditional techniques and processes, and keeps exploring new possibilities: some of his pieces have a polished-matt surface effect, that is obtained by reworking by hand the fondant protecting the artwork.
