New York, New York — These are enticing paintings. Uplifting that take you into looking upwards to look above into the sky and nature filled with light. These are the paintings of French contemporary artist Pierre-Luc Poujol whose large format paintings are most often painted flat on the floor — action painting, he calls it— often employing his drip technique in which the brush does not touch the canvas, and incorporating  pieces of branches, leaves and other elements of nature into them. He makes his own tools for painting with tree branches and often makes his own pigments. The artist draws his inspiration from painters like Joan Mitchell and Jackson Pollock and his works are meant to incite people to look up since we are looking down most of the time now, he explained in a recent interview. 

Right on the heels of an exhibition in Paris, entitled Symbiosis and held at the Galerie Ida Médicis, the city of New York is currently enjoying an opportunity to admire a dozen of his works in a solo show in an off-beat but centrally located location, the Maison de la Région Occitanie of New York. The artist hails from the sun-drenched region in southern France and works there in a studio framed in glass near the city of Montpelier, which collectors and gallery owners can visit by appointment. The show is a preview of his museum exhibition entitled Forest Call, slated to open in the spring of 2024 in the Musée Paul Valéry in the scenic town of Sète on the Mediterranean Sea. Works in the show were also featured in his 2020 exhibition at the Musée Paul Valéry, Voyage to Giverny, a tribute to Monet.

Left: Painting by Pierre-Luc Poujol, n°581, 160×60 cm, ©Pierre-Luc Poujol Handout via The Gourmet Gazette. Right: Painting by Pierre-Luc Poujol, n°580, 180×60 cm, ©Pierre-Luc Poujol Handout via The Gourmet Gazette 

Artist, painter, sculptor, Pierre-Luc Poujol paints nature with nature, and his works revolve around the mutual relationship between mankind and the environment. The result are extremely well-executed and eye-catching works that retain the viewer’s attention. He was recently named ambassador to the French non-governmental organization Coeur de Forêt which works to save forests and promote the forest and humankind throughout the world. His is the first exhibition to be held at the Maison de la Région Occitanie – New York. He was invited by Caroline Delga, the president of the region, Occitania in English, which aims to promote contemporary local art through its regional cultural policy. The exhibition is being held through May 20th and is open from Mondays to Fridays from 9am until 5:30pm. Maison de la Région Occitanie – New York , 244 W 54th St, Suite 901, New York, NY 10019