Ludovic Dervillez (born in 1973) is a French abstract painter living and working near Reims. Trained at the École Supérieure d'Art et de Design de Reims, he develops a pictorial practice based on action, decision and the relationships that are established between forms, traces, matter and space.
Intensity is not a question of quantity but of necessity.
My painting is constructed as a field of decisions where each intervention initiates a transformation of the whole. Nothing is truly predetermined. Forms, lines, traces of color, and concentrations of matter appear gradually through a process of adjustments, shifts, and relationships.
After working for a long time with a denser approach, marked by accumulation, repetition, and a more assertive gestural style, my painting is now evolving towards a form of concentration where intensity remains essential but no longer relies on the amplification of gesture. It is shifting towards more measured interventions, sometimes more fragile, but also more necessary.
The drawing, the subtle gestures, and the colorful accents create tension and guide the composition. As the work progresses, some traces disappear while others remain. What remains is what continues to exert its influence within the whole.
The raw background of the canvas actively contributes to this economy of means. The various elements coexist with varying degrees of presence, oscillating between assertion, withdrawal, and erasure. The material intervenes in a localized way, like a contained force capable of altering the balance of the composition.
Painting does not seek intensity through the accumulation of means, but rather through the precision of the relationships established between the elements. An almost erased line, a variation in texture, or an isolated accent of color can sometimes convey more tension than a fully covered surface.
Between what happens and what is decided, each element finds its place not through demonstration but through necessity.
© Photographer: Xavier Lavictoire
