Mathieu PIFFETEAU, born in 1982 in Nantes, lives and works in Biarritz. His works explore the diffusion of light through an original technique that is uniquely his own.

In winter 2023, for his first solo exhibition, the artist took over the Sainte-Eugénie crypt in Biarritz with over fifty canvases of varying dimensions.

The Arteko gallery in San Sebastian (Spain) invited Mathieu PIFFETEAU to exhibit his work in parallel with that of Alfredo Alcain, winner of the national plastic arts prize.

Without message or symbolism, Mathieu PIFFETEAU’s canvases aim at the contemplation of beauty through the power of color and optical effects.

His fragmentation technique

Linked to the Op Art movement, he creates geometric shapes in which light diffuses across his abstract canvases.

He uses oil paint in a slow, precise process of fragmentation, a time-consuming technique that allows for fluidity. Despite the apparent perfection of this luminous continuity, none of the little squares is identical. It’s the crushing of the paint as it passes from one line to the next that gives the eye the impression of continuity, because it doesn’t perceive the breaks.

This process requires days or even months of work before the light is diffused on the canvas.

This technique is to some extent inspired by the Australian Aboriginal community, with whom he painted traditional pictures according to strict codes, assimilating patience as much as the proximity of art and craft.

Optical illusions and light work

Mathieu PIFFETEAU applies small squares of oil paint one by one, forming gradations of color. An immediate optical effect! The eye perceives a luminous energy that appears all over the canvas, creating a kinetic effect.

The artist concentrates his efforts on the illusion of blurs, the creation of complex shapes and the accentuation of movement. The result is a work that hypnotizes the viewer, delivering a vibratory, kinetic energy.