Portraits of Walks

Ongoing project
Belvès (Périgord Noir), France, December 2023
Pécut (Creuse), France, January 2024
Chirols (Ardèche), France, July 2024

Work first exhibited at the SWAG art fair in Barcelona with Set Espai d’Art gallery in October 2024.

Portraits of Walks (“Portraits de promenades”, sensorial and subjective system of transcribing walks)

Portraits of Walks is an experiment that continues my series around the idea of making art while walking. In most of my projects, I walk a lot. I practice walking for the sake of walking, not just to go from point A to point B. I realized that walking for the simple pleasure of it opens the door to contemplation. In Portraits of Walks, I try to emphasize this contemplation and be aware of my surroundings so that I can later transcribe my sensations into a work of art.

To create a portrait of a walk, I write down notes about what I observe or feel during a walk, and once I’m back in the studio, I compile that data to paint it into a picture.

The experiment is based on an exercise I’ve been doing for some time, which involves stopping at any point during the day, observing my surroundings, and perceiving where I am and what’s around me. It closely resembles a mindfulness technique, although it’s something I’ve always done intuitively, without knowing how to label it.

The result is a visual representation of the experience of a walk. Each painting is unique and varies depending on the location, the season, the weather, and events… It’s like I’m making a landscape painting, but in motion: the portrait of a walk at a given moment.

The system:

A portrait of a walk works like this: I choose a looped walk with a certain number of segments (usually between 9 and 12) and I walk through those segments. What I call a segment is a portion of the walk between two points where I need to make a decision. That is, I walk, and when I reach an intersection, the segment ends, and the next one begins. I note down the data of the segment I just walked and prepare to start the next one.

What I note down are subjective data about my appreciation of what I see, hear, smell, the dominant colors, the path’s layout (its width, its color and boundaries), the state of the sky, and the presence of water. I also record if there were any particularly positive or negative events during that segment. For example, the scent of a blooming tree would be very positive in terms of smell, while a barking dog would be negative in terms of sound and perception. For sight, hearing, and smell, I assign scores on a scale of one to five, which are later translated into a color scale in the painting.

At each stop, at the end of each segment, I collect all that data on a form. When I finish the walk, I compile the forms and, back in the studio, I interpret the recorded data to create the painting.

 

Running With Rocks

Residency
Moulinage de Chirols, France
Juillet 2024

Engraving experiment with rocks and movement made during the Encrages Art Residency in Chirols, France in July 2024.

Video images by Nelio.
Thanks to Laïla, Ben, and everyone at the Moulinage de Chirols.

Averses

Hangar 107 Art Center
Rouen, France
July 2021

Artworks created for the solo show Sérendipité: www.eltono.com/exhibitions/solo/serendipite

Averses (rain showers)

Following my researches around the idea of artwork alteration with uncontrolled external factors, I decided to take advantage of the Normandy weather to walk around the art center each time it was raining, protecting myself under an artwork. The colored parallel lines sequence traced with felt pens are defaced by the water drips which make the ink bleed. because the exposition time is the same for each outing, the characteristics of each rain shower can be clearly seen in the result. Big spaced drops, light rain or strong rain shower all leave a different imprint on the ink.

Thanks to all the Hangar 107 crew, Jean Guillaume, Nicolas, Marc, Kim, Théo, Caro, Marilou and Gabin.

Pictures: Juan Cruz, Jean Guillaume Panis and Eltono.

One Minute Before

Since I started painting geometric shapes using masking tape I have always found the moment right before pulling the tape off very interesting. At first, it looks a bit uncontrolled and messy but with a closer look, you can already begin to see an organized structure among the chaos of the tape and paint. Because painting in the street (for obvious reasons) has to be a quick action, this moment where the paint and the tape exist simultaneously is always extremely short. The idea for this new series called “One Minute Before” is to generate a collection of drawings based on the re-creation of this brief moment just before the tape is pulled off and the painting is revealed – a moment that, apart from myself, very few people have ever seen. All the drawings are based on real paintings that exist or have existed in the street, most of them painted illegally.

The first three drawings of this series were created in Beijing in June 2013 using pencil, acrylic and watercolor on paper.

This new series of work was presented to the public for the first time during the Wooster Collective 10th Anniversary Show at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York in August of 2013.

To ask about availability and prices of these artworks, please write an email to: artworks@eltono.com

Line and Surface

Line and Surface Print on Wood

Print edited by Stickit; real size reproduction of the cover of the monographic book Line and Surface.

[Not a valid template]50 pieces series, signed and numbered. Silkscreen print on plywood, 24 x 30 x 0,4 cm (9″ x 12″ x 0,16″).

110 Euros + shipping costs (Europe: 10 Euros, worldwide: 12 Euros) Sold OUT

“Astillas”

La Culpable
Sucre 101, Barranco, Lima, Peru
11/06/2008 – 30/07/2008
More details about the project here: www.eltono.com/exhibitions/astillas

The following artworks are currently in France (24).

Astillas, 101 painted pieces of drift wood – each piece 175€

If you are interested in purchasing one or more pieces, please send a message to: shop@eltono.com

I made an interactive animation so you can preview compositions, it’s available here:
www.eltono.com/astillas/eltono-astillas.html

Astillas number 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 45, 49, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 101 have been sold.

Astillas

I made the Astillas intallation in June 2008 for the individual exhibition of the same name in Lima Peru. In June 2012 it was showcased again in Dublin for the Festival Of World Cultures.

Using this animation you will be able to play with the Astillas and make your own compositions:
(You can use the full size animation by clicking here: Astillas-Animation.)

Individual picture of each available piece:

Astillas, 101 painted drift wood pieces.

Astillas number 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 45, 49, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 101 have been sold.

The Astillas can be bought separately or by selecting a group.

To consult prices, please send an email to: eltono@eltono.com