The Art Pledge
Portrait of Damien Deroubaix

Photo: Roland Michaud 2021. Courtesy the artist and In Situ - fabienne leclerc

Damien Deroubaix

Born in
1972
From
Lille, France
Lives and works
Paris, France
Represented by
In Situ - fabienne leclerc
Wikipedia
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Deroubaix

UN goals

Tags

I have used a lot of images from the Second World War as they enable me to have a strong imagery that can be immediately understood by a wider audience but I always transform them to comment on our contemporary time.

Biography

To depict reality as it is, to exhibit life without filters: this is Damien Deroubaix's goal. Working with painting, engraving, drawing and even glass, his universe is populated by monsters and macabre creatures alluding to an all too violent world. Inspired by cinema and collage, his oeuvre –with its contrasting color palette– investigates how power corrupts humans and our proneness to abuse it. 


It’s not uncommon to find references to iconic works of art, from Picasso to Rembrandt, and passing by more contemporary creators, as the artist pays homage to painting and art history. Deroubaix’s gloomy portraits also take inspiration from Francis Bacon’s work; we can see a special link between their fondness for mouths and for black. 


His work can be associated with that of John Heartfield who created highly political photomontages condemning Hitler’s regime. In both cases, art is more than a pure aesthetic experience and has a moral obligation towards society as an artist’s role is to reflect on their time.

Career highlights

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