The Quest for a Vocation
Drawing has always been part of his life. Although he doesn’t know where this irrepressible need came from, Frédéric Truteau remembers how, as a child, barely able to hold a felt-tip pen, he was already drawing. At his parents’ house in Marseille, on vacation, in the car… He always had a pencil in hand. And then, as a teenager, the line turned into a brushstroke, through abstract canvases tinted with red and black.
Despite the enthusiasm of those around him for his works, making painting his profession seemed unrealistic. The young man therefore pursued another professional path. He resigned himself to putting his brushes away at the bottom of a box where they remained for nearly ten years. Until one day, at the age of 35, his passion resurfaced, pushing Frédéric back to his pencils.
Determined to find his own style, his personal touch that would make the difference, he multiplied tests and research. Far from the canvases of his youth, it was by drawing inspiration from cubist works that the self-taught painter managed to rediscover himself.
Frédéric then produced colorful works that depicted Australian landscapes with originality and freshness, a country dear to him, before casting a playful eye on his native Marseille. His sardine can series, a reference to the famous episode of the port blockade in the 18th century, won over the local public.
Since then, Frédéric Truteau has devoted himself entirely to his art, challenging preconceptions day after day to make painting his profession.
Text by Julie Polizzi