Arrêt sur images #4

Thomas Meillet is a self-taught painter.

A reserved child, he likes to take refuge in drawing, it is for him a means of expression as he feels different from other children, apart from others. the gap. As an adult, he describes his relationship with society as as an incompatibility with shared faults 50%. However, he manages to adapt to the codes of society through a caring education and a happy childhood where his parents give him the possibility of to express oneself freely in his own way, not seeking to curb its authenticity.

His school career is without erasures. Following his baccalaureate, he began studies at a university. the faculty sports Besançon, but he no longer finds his place and does not see himself in the profession of sports teacher, he describes this exercise as a role to play. play, like a lack of authenticity he needs to flourish.

Thomas then decides to change path, and, after having passed the competition, he is accepted into the competition. the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture of Lyon. He begins his first year, and his courses allow him to discover and become aware of the subject matter. à art. During his studies, he goes to; meeting artists, discovers the daily life of this life which he describes as « dream » but leaves this dream dormant in order to stay in tune with reality. of the company.

Thomas' life changes after a stint in a psychiatric hospital in Paris. the continuation of what he would describe as « a road trip, a burn-out both professional and personal. This event nevertheless allows him to exacerbate his sensitivity to à art, to see the world differently.

He then tries despite this. She was ready to resume her studies, but her vision of things changed. since his hospitalization. The world no longer looks at him the same, and he too sees him differently. This is where it is. that he begins to draw, create. It’s an outlet, a way to communicate differently, to leave a little more room for communication. authenticity and at creativity and less pragmatism.

The disease was a driving force in his personal and artistic development, in 2013 he began a long period of creation “ underground », without daring to expose his work, without showing it. Until 2019, he painted in the shadows.

But Thomas does not stop at drawing, whether figurative or abstract. He also likes working with various materials (wood, cement, clay, metal...). His grandfather, a carpenter by trade, passed on this passion to him. He decides to start training in the field of carpentry, but he doesn't find his way there. It was then, in 2019, that he chose to launch himself as a painter and make it his activity. main. His first exhibitions, his first sales and the first convincing and encouraging feedback on his work will follow.

« My art could be described as esoteric writing, these signs which, once together, and according to a multitude of possibilities, give an energy, sometimes electric, other times which could resemble an energy. a vortex, an infinity of thoughts, whatever it may be, the energy that emerges is striking. The signs challenge, question... depending on the evolution of energies, the signs, the forms move, leaving room for emptiness.»

"Thomas Meillet French artist born in 1988. During a long hospital stay, to kill boredom and fight, he began to fight. invent, draw signs of all kinds, as an outlet for suffering. He works and develops his art. His creations born in a space of psychic torment, such as a hospital bed, are the expression and testimony of a step, in a space of time. won about life. Each sign can be interpreted in a different way. like an affirmation, or an emotional scar in the face of the progression of his illness. The artist searched for professions, from teacher to teacher carpenter, forgetting others, without stopping creating. In 2019, he decided to definitively establish himself as a painter. His artistic approach is to build resilience in the future. each work, a projection of healing.
His creations are more and more composed. Shapes and volumes appear, flourish, more complex, with densities and colors that define new boundaries for its “perspectives” to live. Space rotates, fills and empties, the empty and the full have fun playing with each other. expand, overflow or gradually disappear. little it depends.
T.MEILLET is one of the pioneers of a trend that has been emerging over the last few years (2/3 years) that I will call “Pictorial Semiotics”, which for certain artists draws inspiration from existing calligraphies (ancient Arabic, Persian or symbols). He seeks and invents languages and figures or perhaps a grimoire which would form a “codex” signal emotions.
His works strong added value in the world of decorative art (In my loft, this will do very well...) go far beyond this niche, which is in no way pejorative. His universe is extremely rich, and a simple look at his work takes us much further, without a suitcase, but always within reach. stroke of signs "

Thierry Fournier