Clément Davout, Une seule lampe éclaire la grande pièce, 2019, oil on canvas, studio view
Clément Davout, Une seule lampe éclaire la grande pièce, 2019, oil on canvas, studio view

„More important than my career is…to be happy with the life we have.”

Name 

Clément Davout

Profession

Artist 

Website

clementdavout.com

Clément_Davout_Profil_picture_1
© Clément Davout

Who are you? What do you do? 

I’m a young painter/musician from France based in Belgium in Brussels.
I make music, under the alias of Adhémar, as to emulate poetry of lights and shadows in order to create my own spaces and paintings that offer a journey into our feelings through color. Or the other way around.

Where are you from?

From a tiny place in the middle of nowhere in Normandy. That’s where my work is rooted. 

Your style in 3 words?

Sensitive, colorful and melancholic.

Clément Davout, Ce ciel qui me traverse me surprend, 2020, oil on canvas, studio view
Clément Davout, Ce ciel qui me traverse me surprend, 2020, oil on canvas, studio view

Your weakness? Your strength?

Self-doubt / Always creating. 

What makes you different? 

My individuality, but in the end it’s not that much different from the other humans on this planet. 

When did you decide to become an artist?

I don’t remember ever making a choice to do that, it was natural from the start.

What do you find most fascinating about the creative process?

When I put the last transparent layer that covers a part of the painting and it gives it its atmosphere. It’s a very scary and exciting moment. 

Clément Davout, Les marques de la nuit, 2019, oil on canvas, 80 x 70 cm
Clément Davout, Les marques de la nuit, 2019, oil on canvas, 80 x 70 cm

A few words about your favourite creation?

It’s an older canvas but I would say «La nuit je mens», because it was really a founding canvas of what I do now. Also, for me, it’s very emotionally charged. 

Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you… 

It’s never an easy question. I’m very curious so I could make a list for hours. But let’s say a few painters : Gustave Caillebotte, Claude Monet, Hans Hartung, Alex Katz, Lucian Freud, Sam Szafran, Sigudur Arni Sigurdson…
I’m enormously inspired by literature, poetry in particular, I could say as a top 3 : Brigitte Baumié, Ito Naga and Tarjei Vesaas. Then of course I have an incalculable list of musicians who also feed my pictorial work.

Clément Davout, A la lumière d'hiver, 2019, oil. on canvas, 50 x 40 cm
Clément Davout, A la lumière d’hiver, 2019, oil. on canvas, 50 x 40 cm

Who would you like to work with someday and why? 

Peter Vermeersch, for his ability to stage his paintings. Space is present in and out of his works.
His color palette is a great source of inspiration for me. 

A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on? 

I kind of miss thinking about the spatial arrangement of my paintings, which has always been important to me. Appropriating the architecture of a place, changing it… etc… I hope that I will have a beautiful space to experiment this in the months to come. 

Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“ 

To be happy with the life we have.

Clément Davout, Je guette le bruit de l’ascenseur, 2019, oil on canvas,30 x 20 cm
Clément Davout, Je guette le bruit de l’ascenseur, 2019, oil on canvas,30 x 20 cm

 

2020: Where are we going? 

I wish I could go to Japan. 

When the going gets tough… 

Read some of Brigitte Baumié’s superb poems or go and see an exhibition. 

Your city’s favourite spots? 

There are many ! But I really enjoy taking a stroll through the forest close to where I live.

Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?

I hope still alive. 

Clément Davout, La nuit je mens, 2018, oil on canvas, 70 x 70 cm, courtesy Galerie Laure Roynette
Clément Davout, La nuit je mens, 2018, oil on canvas, 70 x 70 cm, courtesy Galerie Laure Roynette

What would you do if you could change the World? 

More meditation, less mediatization.

 If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into? 

A spiral!

Tell us about your future plans 

For the painting side, I’ve got a big exhibition in France, in Saint-Etienne, coming this summer. I also have few group shows happening around.
On the music, side I’ve got 3 albums planned in 2020, plus some EP… A lot to do.

Clément Davout, La demie obscurité du dehors,2019, oil on vanvas, exhibition view, courtesy Galerie Laure Roynette
Clément Davout, La demie obscurité du dehors, 2019, oil on vanvas, exhibition view, courtesy Galerie Laure Roynette

Last but not least: what is your favourite Song?

Abul Mogard – Half Light Dawn or Valentino Mora – Steamroom (6am Exaltation Mix), too. Hard to decide, and I think that they represent my universe with harmony. 

One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“ 

Wood and Art

Your #?

#clementdavout