De Lorme

CEBU, Philippines - French artist Delphine de Lorme attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and then studied dance and theater. She went on to work as a television script supervisor and director since 1988. At the same time, she has continued to pursue painting. Her canvases are exhibited at the prestigious Opera Gallery in Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris.

She said she fell in love with Cebu and has come to stay since four years ago with her family. “I totally fell in love with Cebu and the Philippines that I decided to honor the country’s biggest contemporary hero, Manny Pacquiao,” she said.

“Therefore, I made a series of eight paintings representing the symbol of Manny’s eight famous belts,” she added.

As of this writing, she’s still working on the last pieces before exhibiting all of them, first here in Cebu (at the 856 G Gallery in A.S Fortuna Street), then in Manila on February 2011, and then Singapore and Paris at the Opera Gallery.

The “Art Buzz at Cebu: Delphine de Lorme – The Pacquiao Series” opened last December 14.

Further, it was learned that in 2006, she moved from France to Cebu where she opened her own artist’s studio which became a small workshop where she created her glamorous furniture collection.

“Contrast is a recurring theme in my work,” she pointed out, adding that she “shows interest in the paradox of life, and is striving to express that life is both magical and tragic.”

“Recklessly torn bits of paper do the trick, adding unfair and violent elements to my glamour and seductive paintings,” she further said.

She also said that she criticizes glitterati society, Hollywood’s show-off tendencies and its artifices, and denounces the paradox between artificial society and this other global reality that surrounds us, dominated by power, injustice and violence.

By representing the femme fatale as an ingenuous and provocative seductress who is armed to the teeth, her paintings “confront viewers with this paradox.”

“This is seen not only in the subjects of my paintings, but also in my technique. My large canvases, crisscrossed with bold strokes of shrill, vivid color; my sharp nervous brushstrokes in which borders fade away, marked by strong mixed-media treatment, provide something of a visual shock that interrogates viewers on the nature of reality,” de Lorme stressed.

It was also learned that she works from ads, provocative titles, comics, and characters, layering vintage French cinema posters with ripped edges.

“My deconstructive work diverts the matter from its initial meaning by reinterpreting it and suggesting other narratives – a critical approach intended to arouse awareness,” de Lorme further explained.

De Lorme is best known for her “Haute Couture” collection which is a mix between the elegant and refined lines of Louis XV furniture and a very modern touch of bright colors. She has described such collection as “so feminine, so Parisian”.

“All our furniture is in solid wood. Every furniture piece is manufactured singly in keeping with French tradition with tenon and mortise joint, dovetailing, elegy moldings. All our woodcarvings are handmade. Gilding is entirely released with gold leaves. No counterfeit techniques are used, as we ban material like clipboard or plywood,” she underscored.

Her “cabinet of curiosities” and “petite commode” bear the stamp of her painting style. (FREEMAN)