Artist Spotlight - Marcel Jomphe — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Portrait at the solo exhibition ‘Drawings - from representation to imagination’, June to October 2025, Reford Gardens, Canada.

Biography

Marcel Jomphe studied graphic design and computer science and worked as a scientific illustrator specializing in botany for a museum and two research institutes. In the 2000s, he became a web designer and then a web development team supervisor.

Mandala 1, 2013, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

He retired in 2012, and as a freelance artist, developed his personal artistic approach through drawing and photography. His work has been shown in about 30 group exhibitions in Canada, the United States and several European countries. His artistic work has won international recognition and several awards.

Mandala 2, 2013, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

For over 5 decades, he has meticulously drawn, photographed and intuitively, rather than systematically, observed the world of organic structures. The vital force and unique intelligence of this world, which unfolds in infinite forms, never ceases to fascinate him. These forms are reinvented in his imagination in works of poetic beauty or as a window onto a metaphysical realm.

Mandala 3, 2013, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

In the context of nature's great creative workshop, drawing and photography are for him the ideal tools for capturing and reinterpreting the works of nature. For him, it's not a question of mechanically reproducing what nature produces. Rather, nature is associated with his creative process, in which he privileges aesthetic validity.

Mandala 4, 2013, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

Artist Statement

Some of these works are astonishing because they show us the world in a way we can all recognize. While others are incredible because they capture the world as we've never seen it before. His work tends to focus more and more on the second category.

Mandala 5, 2014, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

In so doing, he creates a distinct style and identity that drives him to work assiduously for hours on end on detailed, elaborate drawings or series of photographs. Finally, his works of art are an intimate interface between the real and the imaginary.

Mandala 6, 2014, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

Central to his work is the exploration of the unseen and the unknown within the natural world. His art captures the intricate details of organic structures, revealing a hidden intelligence and vital force that drive the processes of growth and transformation.

Mandala 7, 2014, Brush and Ink on Fabriano Artistico Paper, 56 x 76 cm

Through his meticulous drawings, he invites the viewer to look beyond the surface and consider the deeper, metaphysical aspects of existence. His work reflects his fascination with the interconnectedness of life and the complexity of organic forms.

Fragment of an Unknown World 1, 2022, Digital graphite (traditional method translated into digital), 50 x 63 cm

His art serves as a reminder of the beauty and mystery that exist within the natural world, encouraging viewers to apppreciate and contemplate the intricacies of nature.

https://www.marceljomphe.art/
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