Guy Honoré

The extraordinary ordinary

July 7 - September 6, 2012

Guy Honoré. Grey figure, h. 43 cm, L. 48 cm. Photo George Meguerditchian.

Although deeply unconventional, Guy Honoré's work is rooted in the great tradition of the French manufactures where he worked for many years. From his years in the workshop, where he learned to juggle with clay and the secrets of throwing and molding, to 2001, when he jumped into his own world: bowls - "my sketchbooks" - vases, then sculptural, animated boxes. Today, Guy Honoré's pieces are often the result of an interplay of tubular elements and assembled plates. The graphics, which are very present, oscillate between abstraction and figuration, the palette between monochrome superimpositions and daring combinations of bold blue, pink, mauve, green and firecracker orange. Always, the black brushstroke underlines a joyful taste for movement - as with Dufy, the line dances - and surfaces combine matte and gloss. Street graffiti and old earthenware are as much a source of inspiration for his sculptures. The works exhibited at the Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste are centered around two inspirational themes: the city and whimsical characters. Guy Honoré redefines the urban landscape in colored or black-and-white architecture, on which his characters cast a placid gaze. His sculptures in stoneware, porcelain and earthenware are milestones on the road to a dream city, ideal and free.

Guy Honoré in the Revue de la céramique et du verre

Guy Honoré invites us to take a look at the city, not the little one of his childhood, but the big one, discovered later with a lot of baggage collected from a neighbor, Nelson Blanco. This Argentinian painter gave him colors, surfaces to paint and materials to model. Guy Honoré builds his cities "en enlever", as he seeks to retain the first draft, the original idea. The elements are cast, assembled and stretched. As he has a taste for beautiful surfaces, the backgrounds are meticulous and the planes are created by the colors. Details appear on approach, drawn in enamel. Beneath the calm, beneath the softness of his edges, which have forgotten to be sharp because of the glaze, a detached geometry emerges, as in the acuity of his gaze, a distance, who knows, heralding chaos?
The artist's other focus is on stylized figures. On the slightly deconstructed city-ground, the human dominates and humanizes it through the fluidity and reflective softness of its colors. Guy Honoré offers a synthesis of Pop Art, surrealism and cinematic cut-outs, supported by impeccable technique. Always captured in motion, with heads turned upside down, eyes wide with questioning or longing, limbs spread out like wings above the city, they give the impression of a theatrical, choreographic and musical exploration.
Anne LAJOIX
Fire Arts Expert
Doctor of Art History