Thomas Godin: From France to Manila
Between the reality he magnifies in print, and the iodized dream world into which he plunges the viewer, Godin’s work boldly blazes a trail for universal, timeless art
French artist Thomas Godin returned to Manila to open his exhibit last 21 February at Whitespace Manila, Makati City.
Originally from Saint-Pol-de-Léon in northern Finistère, Godin lives and works in Landerneau.
Literally imbued by the chromatic diversity of Breton landscapes, this self-taught artist has been exploring the possibilities of the printmaking technique since 2012.
An ode to Brittany, its culture and language, his work also looks to the world. From Benin to Mexico, via the Philippines and Bhutan, his many travels continually enrich his vision.
Between the reality he magnifies in print, and the iodized dream world into which he plunges the viewer, Godin’s work boldly blazes a trail for universal, timeless art.
Through numerous exhibitions in France and abroad, monumental public and private commissions, auctions and documentary films evoking his atypical trajectory, Thomas Godin’s work has been reaching an ever-wider audience since 2018.
In his own words:
How did this artistic adventure begin?
The day a friend introduced me to an engraving, without really knowing how to explain it, I immediately knew that it was going to change my life, my way of looking at the world around me.
At the same time as I became interested in engraving, I also discovered long-distance travel and started learning Breton, my grandmother’s language. That was in 2012... Since then, as a self-taught artist, I’ve read books on the different techniques and I’ve taken incredible pleasure in plunging my hands into ink and paint.. I’ve never stopped!
What do your works tell us?
It’s my impressions and sensations in front of a landscape that I try to translate, without always succeeding, so my works. they tell me. They tell who I am, where I come from. This visceral link to Finistère, the land where I was born, to the Breton culture of which I am a proud descendant..
Your titles are in Breton... is it an expression of this relationship?
Yes, and when I started learning Breton, I quickly realized how incredibly poetic the language is. Everything is imagery.
The words themselves smell of iodine and coniure up colors.
I’m convinced that whoever invented Breton must have been a painter..I can’t think of any other explanation!