Sur l'eau

French artist Trimborn is renowned for his large-­scale, stunning landscapes in oil on canvas. Trimborn, trained as an architect, categorizes his work as “contemporary impressionism”; by this, he is referencing his unusual approach to ordinary subjects, his emphasis on the ethereal quality of light, and his focus on the natural world.

Regarding his work, Trimborn states: "the morphology of the landscapes, or more essentially, the space that the countryside paints, draws my attention and is like the spark of an idea. As an architect, I see there a breath, a light, a rhythm that can form on its own a principle of beauty. Thus, in painting, I am guided by these places of the countryside, they go through the seasons, but also through meteorological and agricultural variations… So, I imagine the passage from the space of the countryside to the space of the canvas. It is a passage to do without useless chatter because everything is there… More than using the painting as a means of communicating my own message, I prefer making the painting talk, leaving it to “say the last word”… The represented elements compose atmospheres whose impression I seek to accurately convey, like the musician, who accurately follows his sheet music. The figure of the man, who is never represented, is, however, sensibly present in these strongly altered and elaborate landscapes. In this effort, the contemplative attitude prevails, much more than the adventurous attitude. No message and no story should disturb the viewer’s perspective…"

Trimborn’s extensive landscapes lack human forms, and thus they encourage contemplation and a careful study of nature. While the presence of humanity is, at times, hinted at by a well-­maintained field of crops or pasture of cows, his paintings tend to highlight the immeasurable vastness of nature and the relative smallness of everything else. His work brilliantly captures the changing seasons, the fleeting visions reflected in his pools of water, and the complex relationships between light, water, and the sky.