BRUTALISM

The “BRUTALISM’’ term was born in 1954 in the United Kingdom (Brutalism) and derives from the béton brut of Le Corbusier, which characterizes Marseille’s “Unité d’Habitation” (1950), and in particular by a quote of 1923 : «L’architecture, c’est, avec des matières brutes, établir des rapports émouvants». (Architecture is, with raw materials, making stirring reports)

This architectural style, with its repetition of useful elements without decorative ones, becomes a symbol that represents all the aggressive metropolitan landscapes that feature every single cities in our occidental urban imaginary.

So the concept of « The beauty of Brutalism » show is painting a serie of 10 works with an abstract view of a dualism between the cement masses and an explosion of the NATURE, able to regain its spaces.

We see in this show all Etnik’s mastery in combining geometrical shapes together with natural elements intertwined and working on industrial supports like metal and wood.

Etnik uses a wide palette of colours that he sometimes deliberately reduces to a few tones in order to achieve a specific esthetical effect. Whereas Etnik mostly uses spray cans when he paints outdoor, he mostly uses brushes and acrylic paint on his studio works.

The recurrent construction of his compositions is one that starts from the middle of the works and explodes towards the edges. The core is a nucleus full of energy spreading out within a circle-like shape structure. The compositions are always very well balanced and classical despite their messy like effect.

In very general terms, we often come across the contrast between the very neat and precise treatment of the subjects and the rougher look of the wooden support left raw as well as the larger splashes of paint that look randomly applied to underline the contrast between sharp forms and instinctive painting.

Abstract cities and abstract floral elements seem like floating in their own contained universe adding in this last show words as part of the composition. As usual, Etnik makes us travel in a world of his own, a world where nature overcomes cities, a decorative world where everything is possible again, where nature will dominate again.