The Marlborough Gallery is pleased to present Lumières, the first exhibition in Spain of Olivier Dassault’s photographic work.
Olivier Dassault is best known for his activities as a business leader, politician, pioneer of the aerospace industry and pilot, but today it is through his creative work, developed for more than thirty years, that he is coming to our country.
Olivier Dassault works on instinct when he looks through the lens of his Minolta XD7, then he improvises and meticulously manipulates the details of each image, using overprints and multiple exposures. The resulting works convey a sensation of movement and their quality almost makes it look like abstract painting. Space, rhythm and color merge to bring to paroxysm our perception of these kaleidoscopic compositions. With Lumières, Olivier Dassault carries his experiments with composition and sets his images on vertical bases, which give them a character so to speak sculptural. The artist explains it well: “I compose instant graphic harmonies. I let myself be surprised and, at the same time, I seek the depth, the axis as well as the perspectives capable of revealing the singularity of the objects. I like working on small details as on monumental structures, on which I impose my own rhythm, and play with compressions and expansions. ”
If there is one thing that characterizes Olivier Dassault, it is his ability to explore to the limit his thoughts and to make the most of all his creative talents. Since adolescence, photography is for him a “necessity” and, as he says himself: “It gives me energy and at the same time allows me to stay focused.
It makes me follow unexpected paths, discover places in a different way, and capture moments of pure fascination. Or, as Rimbaud said, to “discover the unknown”. The creative energy of Olivier Dassault is not limited to the visual field: he is also a composer, even if he is better known as a politician and businessman.
It belongs to one of the most important families in France, which is particularly famous in the technology and film industries, but is best known, with the Dassault Group, for its pioneering role in aeronautics. The group manufactures, among others, the famous Falcon aircraft.
Olivier Dassault is not only one of the few to be qualified to fly the full range of Falcon aircraft, but he also has several world speed records. He has been able to associate his entrepreneurial activities with an accomplished political career, and has been an elected member of the French National Assembly since 1988.
His profile is absolutely unique in the world of art. As the former French Minister of Culture Jean-Jacques Aillagon said in a text written for the catalog of Olivier Dassault’s latest exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery:
“One of his great qualities is that, although he has been photographing since the 1970s, each of his series is distinct from the previous one. Like any good creative, he knows that one has to constantly question oneself – “doubt is the origin of knowledge”, to quote Descartes. Olivier Dassault is part of abstract photography, but he adds a subtle game with the material that fascinates him. The work of the photographer is not limited to the moment when he presses the shutter, it continues, and it is crucial, the drawing of images. When the artist pays attention to this process, his commitment to the art of photography is high.
His work is liberated and is marked by the desire to conceptualize images, which range from the capture of a concrete reality to the production of shapes and colors that are no longer associated with recognizable objects. It reminds me of this quote from Paul Valery: “To observe is mainly to imagine what one expects to see.”
Olivier Dassault
Born in 1951 in Boulogne-Billancourt (France), Olivier Dassault graduated from the École de l’Air in 1974. Two years later, he obtained a master’s degree in mathematics and then a doctorate in management computer science.
His photographic work is exhibited in several public collections such as The Israel Museum (Jerusalem, Israel), The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas), the National Library of France and the Museum of Modern Art Palm Springs.
More information on: https://www.galeriamarlborough.com/
Information
Galerie Marlborough
Calle de Orfila, 5, 28010 Madrid, Spain
November 14, 2019 to January 04, 2020
