Page 5 - CATALOGUE SERGE ANEZIN

Serge Anezin I Forewords
Beyond the work of an artist, anyone visiting an art gallery or going to an exhibition is curious to know who the artist is, what technics he uses, what influenced and motivated him. The same applies to a music composer or a writer. It could be the reason why there are so many autobio- graphies on the market. Through his paintings the painter expresses what he feels, sees and what he wishes to become: It is a kind of autobiography by itself. In art, there is the real world and the dream one. What does the artist experience when imagining, creating and drawing ?
“His baraque” is somehow like Yves Montand “roulotte” (caravan) By his sides, there is Marthe, with her Love and admiration. Living with an artist implies to be able to stand back to let the artist quench his thirst for observing and creating. Serge does not paint in an artist studio nor on an easel as one could expect. Rather, he stands on his feet, humble, leaning on his canvas that was put on a big rectangular table. Serge is an epicurean, a ‘bon vivant’, with his senses always aroused. He delights in getting together with friends and, with Marthe, will treat them with some delicious and colorful meals. The ingredients for this Provençal cuisine are the same ones found in his paintings: fish, fruit, vegetables, aioli (garlic mayonnaise)...as real as it could be.
Serge Anezin was fortunate to be born in Martigues nicknamed “The Provençal Venice”: the hills, the sky, and the typical scents of the garrigue that were all part of his childhood. Later on he settled in the so soothing Provençal environment of Beaulieu-Sur–Mer. Everything can become a painting: the bouillabaisse, the sea urchins, boats, the hills...He was just a child during the Second World War and as such, he belongs to this generation of people who had to grow on their own but thanks to a sense of curiosity and open-mindedness they would manage to flourish.
“A shape interests me from the moment I ma- naged to give it life . I domybesttogo beyond my limits and keep an open mind. “Wrote Jean Atlan
In Serge’s case, the encounter with an art teacher was the triggering event for his calling in painting. His childhood friends (Martial Raysse, Jean Brandy) budding artist who became famous years later, encouraged him to paint and were the ones to offer him his first canvas, some oil painting tubes and paintbrushes. Afterwards, he came across the work of Cocteau, Matisse and Bonnard which reaffirmed his passion. In his youth, while living in Paris he got acquainted with the world of cinema and sets and the hushed atmosphere of movies thea- tres.With Bergman, Hitchcock, Godard and the French New Wave, he realized that the world of cinema appealed to him.
In a constant quest for perfection, the flame of creation keeps burning even when his eyesight is starting to fail him. He likes to put all the colors on big size can- vas: blue, green, orange, burgundy, rust ; those are the colors he wears, his clothes always origi- nal and always arranged with great taste.
Serge Anezin highly values the human qualities such as kindness, generosity, sincerity and the secrets people may hold. No wonder he often went to jazz clubs in the Latin Quarter of Paris such as Le Caveau de la Huchette where he would spend hours observing and listening to those tireless jazzmen who played on and on in those intimate spaces: Maxime Saury - Claude Luther - Django Reinhart (Clouds ) - Stephane Grapelli. He is also very much inte- rested in literature especially when the writers are Boris Vian, Prévert, Sartre, René Char ( Ni- colas Stael ‘s friend), Camus, not to forget Pagnol and the Provence “his dear Provence’.
He is not indifferent to other people’s story, whether they are his friends’, poets’, writers ‘or journalists’. To him there is more than his closest environment. He is open to the outside world and has a personal vision about society. He’s curious about what the complexities of men are, and strives to understand their strengths and shortcomings yet, only keeping in mind what really matters.With a reserved personality, he will only open up taking into account others and his emotions. He met Cocteau in the flesh and also went to Cagnes-Sur-Mer to see the work of Renoir. Every time he could, he would hurry to art exhibitions whether there were in Nice, Paris or Amsterdam. In Gémenos, in green surroundings, near Sainte Baume and over- looking Garlaban, he had his house built according to his own house plans giving a uniqueness and singularity to “his baraque” (his house).
He is not just an aesthete, a connoisseur of art and beauty but he is also passionate about sports such as football, skiing; biking, trekking. He also loves travelling where he can observe nature and discover magical places that will be a source of inspiration for his paintings.Serge has always done his best to put himself in the observer shoes so as to observe life, situations, moments and places and he knows how to be with his friends, how to listen to them and value both their strengths and their weaknesses, always in an compassionate manner.
The words Serge cherishes the most are sincerity, curiosity, enthusiasm and truth.
The work of Serge Anezin is a reflection of his personality: generous, warm and colorful: an authentic invitation to his passions and emotions.
5