It’s a sensation of ascending motion, which you feel when you look at the top of Mont Blanc, and then sublime dismay as soon as you cross the door of the cable car. Skyway. And so the ascension becomes real, through rotational movements that allow an integral view of the entire valley below and of the renowned Courmayeur.
Upon arrival at the station Pavilion the unimaginable. A work of art at altitude, free and rebellious to the museum institution, which lives and triumphs at 2,713 meters in height.
It is a fresco, or as we usually define it today a “mural”, an art that comes from the street and returns to the street, destined for it. The most democratic thing there is. The features of are recognisable Walter Bonattione of the deepest connoisseurs of Mont Blanc, one of the most eminent mountaineers on the world scene.
That of the French artist SWED ONER it’s a tribute. A dedication to the “king of the Alps”, who passed away in 2011 in Rome, and a “cadeau” on the occasion of the opening of the 2024 summer season of Skyway.
The street artist, whose given name is Mathieu Taupenas, recounted the genesis of his career.
A background as a skater and hip-hop dancer. How did you get into visual arts? Are there any of those experiences that you’ve brought into the art?
Yes, I think so, because it’s all linked by a common thread, which is the road, in fact. Skateboarding is a discipline that is practiced on the street, today I paint on the street and above all I paint subjects that I meet casually on the street. In short, street art, my language, comes from there. Painting outdoors is a political act because it allows the democratization of art, which would otherwise remain locked up in museums. I don’t skate anymore anyway, I’m too old.
So your favorite subject is the people you meet, but is there something that attracts you, that makes you choose them?
I try to represent the invisible of our society. This is why in my works we often find “weak” subjects, such as elderly people or the homeless. In practice I represent all those people who do not find space in institutional art, those who are not normally objects of interest. And they are people who, as I said previously, really live the streets.
First time at high altitude? How do you feel about painting here?
So high yes. I had already painted in Chamonix, in Val-d’Isère.
When I work I am concentrated on the wall, but like everyone else when I turn and see the view I feel tiny before the immensity of the mountain. It’s a completely different set of work from any other.
What do you find interesting about working on this subject in this context? What added value does it give you?
What is particular is that I am painting a mountaineer in his natural habitat and while I do it I am alone, insignificant in front of the mountain. I’m painting someone who made history here. There is a parallel between what I am painting and myself. Bonatti has made countless climbs on Mont Blanc and I am doing mine, with my art. In fact the work is entitled «Ascension».
Why this photograph by Bonatti?
It’s a speaking image. He has reached the top and is looking at what he has just accomplished. We feel it in this image. It is at the pinnacle of his art.
The weather conditions are not always accommodating, today for example they are adverse. How do you work, what technique and tools do you use to create the work? Do they change based on location?
I always use the same technique. I work with spray cans and acrylic paint. I use acrylic for details and only use black and white. I recreate the shades of gray by mixing white and black directly on the wall.
Why do you only paint in black and white?
It is the paradox of human nature rendered through the two extremes, black and white, which fundamentally do not exist. Even in my paintings we never find pure black or white, but together they create an entire scale of greys, of all shades.
What is real in your works? And what is the result of poetic license?
There is only truth.
I don’t know if hyperrealism is interesting, but I can’t help but paint what I see. I start from a reference, which is photography, which I generally take, but in this case it was obviously not possible. I don’t intentionally intervene on it, but my work will certainly be different from that of another hyperrealist. The choice of framing rather than shooting is already a stance towards the subject.
Yours is a human art. What captures you about people?
It’s as if they chose me, not the other way around. You can’t explain it, it’s like a heart attack, falling in love. It is the case.
Information
The work can be seen from 9 June.
www.montebianco.com
