French artist Stéphane Calais continues his vivacious investigation of materials in what he describes as “non-geometric and gestural abstraction mixed with simple shapes of flowers and fruits.” In addition to his celebrated paintings, Calais often incorporates a combination of technical approaches, including printmaking, wall drawing, sculpture and installation, generating what he calls a “game of movement, size and surface.” Enchanted by Japanese katagami patterns and French art nouveau styling, he references both in works on canvas hung atop wallpapered backgrounds, silkscreen prints hung from the ceiling and wall drawing. They are united by his signature gestures in fluid black and signifying what the artist considers a “struggle with the architecture, decoration and knowledge. A certain ideal was the goal of each… A kind of pedagogical aspect more than a spirit.”

Calais currently has a solo exhibition at the Passerelle Centre d’art contemporain, Brest where he “makes the Art Center’s monumental patio fly into a cloud of colorful shapes while a black mural sweeps the depth of the space” (Inferno Magazine) and his work has been included in shows this year at the Centre Pompidou, Paris and Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg. He has exhibited widely at many museums and galleries throughout Europe and was a finalist for the 2008 Prix Marcel Duchamp. This is his third New York solo show. He lives and works in Paris.