Philippe Gadenne

Philippe Gadenne was born and raised in northern France in a small village called Halluin. Philippe remembers well the portraits his father painted of his mother. A more formal art education at early school and personal devotion in his own time allowed him to pursue his talent. In his late teens Philippe moved to Corsica and was thereafter stationed in the army for a year where his painting continued. Corsica, with such an extraordinary organic landscape, is inspiring for any artist. In the French tradition Philippe would continue along the self-taught path he followed for the first few years. France's richness of teachers allowed Philippe to study privately with master painters in his early twenties in a concerted effort to broaden his sense of composition and refine his technique. Two painters in particular inspired him: Quilici, from Marseille, and Ambrogiani, from Corsica. With a technique and a style uniquely his own Philippe continued to be influenced and meditate further on his own style. Philippe began selling his early works in his twenties and even giving some to friends and family. While still in Corsica he was invited to his first exhibitions at a hotel. He met his future wife in Cannes in and, despite the protestations of friends, moved to Canada a few years later. The work of Philippe Gadenne evokes something that abstract yet wholly representational at the same time. There is a harmony of brazen colour, bold and uplifting palette knife work, and logical form. But there is also movement and an imaginative placement of the immediate subject matter. It is a delightfully unapologetic style that enraptures its viewers, inviting us to a celebration amongst the most primary of our senses. An enjoyment of life heralded before us, a veritable joie de vivre!