About

I have drawn and painted since childhood and experimented different techniques throughout my life. I realized that what I enjoy most is painting portraits. Painting a person has some magical effects to it. It gives the painter the ability to capture the essence of a person and fix it in time. Suddenly, all the emotional dimension, all the history, all the experiences of life are captured in one place.

In turn, everything else, the prejudices, the fictions, dissipate. Where I come from, this had a particular resonance. I was born and raised in Martinique, a Caribbean island with a difficult history of slavery, where racism still exists today between the white and the black community. Early in my life, I realized that art could be a way to bridge the distance between the two communities. I recall for instance that when I was 12, I painted a woman I had met in our village. When I showed her my painting, she burst in tears. But tears of joy, tears of happiness. Suddenly the distance between us had disappeared and in her eyes, I was no longer this white young man. The distance disappeared and we became one of the same - she could trust me.

Reflecting on this experience in the years that followed, I realized how art could be such a powerful way to connect and build trust with other people. With art, I was allowed to pursue this unique, intimate connection with people wherever it led me.

If you want to discuss or chat about some of the paintings, art, or anything else, feel free to send me an email at this address: antonin.lapresle@gmail.com.