Toma-L

Profile

It is at the time of a retrospective Dubuffet in Beaubourg that the matricial shock occurs. Art imposes itself; remedy, outlet, reason to breathe and to be in the world.

"Sometimes I think that if Dubuffet has painted, he has at least done it for me. Of course this is to be considered with humor, but still... My eyes were opened to something that could allow me to connect with the world." T. L.

Toma-L paints from the stomach, from the heart. He paints to meet an instinctive need, he paints freely, on the fringe of reflections.

This concentration on the stroke, the line, the motif, leads the artist to the territories of lyrical abstraction, free figuration, abstract expressionism, and art brut, all of which have the predominance of the gesture as an inking point. 

The lines emerge from the depths of inspiration, the forms seize all the opportunities offered by the support.

Papers, canvases, performances, monumental installations, Toma-L constantly reinvents his pictorial practice. He joins forces with other artists - video artists, dancers, photographers, editors, graphic designers - to project his universes ever further. He succeeds in this difficult challenge of permanent metamorphosis, without ever abandoning anything of himself.

"Painting remains my shield. I will never give up." T. L.

Biography

Thomas Labarthe is a French visual artist born in 1975 in Périgueux. He lives and works bewteen Nantes and Marseille.

In 2001, Thomas discovered Jean Dubuffet at the Centre Pompidou. A retrospective exhibition that constitutes for him a "real shock". Three months later, he painted Mala bestia, his first canvas. The time of the exhibitions will follow: Paris, Carhaix, Nantes, Tours.

In 2006, he presented Figures Libres at the Altercultura Center in Barcelona. Initially an outlet, his creation becomes more and more structured. Thomas Labarthe finds his formats, begins to define his masses, his forms and his colors.

Rich and fertile, his experience of life in Spain links him to the southern colours.

Between 2008 and 2009, he is exhibited in France and travels several times to New York for residencies.

In 2012, the meeting with Eric Landau. Since then Toma-L is a permanent artist of the W Gallery.


Exhibitions (selection)

2022

- Retro-Crade, Galerie Gaïa, Nantes

- Divine, group show, Galerie Macadam, Brussels

2021

- AAF Bruxelles, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Macadam, Brussels

- Pont des Ral, Galerie Macadam, Brussels

- Lille Art Up!, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Lille

- Paint House, Amalgame Gallery, Dubaï

- OUT 2, group show, Galerie C.O.A, Montreal 

2020

- WBC, Galerie W, Paris

- Galeristes, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie W, Paris

- Colors in the house, group show, Manifesta, Lyon 

- W-Art United Festival, Galerie W, Paris

- Il peint sur Nantes, Galerie Gaïa, Nantes

- OUT, group show, Galerie C.O.A, Montreal

2019

- Simple Brut, Galerie Saltiel, Aix-en-Provence

- Art Elysées, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Paris

- St-art, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Strasbourg

- Brute de bois, Domaine des Peyre, Robion

- Querelle Carbone, Le Cosmonaute, Paris 

- Spring Group Show, group show, Galerie Macadam, Brussels

- Permanent hanging, Galerie Frevo, New York 

2018

- Bonne Pierre Bon Oeil, Musée de l'Imprimerie, Nantes

- St-art, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Strasbourg

- Art Elysées, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Paris

- At Home, Amalgame Gallery, Houston, Texas 

- Lille Art Up!, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Lille

2017

- Stone Age G.697, Galerie Trajectoire, Tours

- St-art, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Strasbourg

- HOBO'S, Arts Festival, Lourmarin

- 8e Avenue, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Paris

- IN SIDE, Galerie Macadam, Brussels

2016

- St-art, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Strasbourg

- Droit au brut, Galerie des Tuiliers, Lyon

- 8e Avenue, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Paris

- Résolutions, Institut Français de Tunis, Tunis

- Gratte que Gratte, Galerie Saltiel, Aix-en-Provence 

- Let me be your hero, group show, Ghaya Gallery, La Marsa, Tunisia

2015

- 70 Art for Haïti, charity auction to benefit Haïti, Galerie W, Paris

- Art 3F, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie du Levant, Montpellier

- 8e Avenue, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Paris

- St-art, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Strasbourg

- Tribute, group show, Galerie Saltiel, Aix-en-Provence

- Paper Love, Galerie W, Paris

- Lille Art Up!, Contemporary Art Fair, Galerie Saltiel, Lille


Publications (selection)

2020

- WBC, exhibition catalogue, studio Deux Point Deux, Galerie W, Paris

2016

- Gratte que Gratte, exhibition catalogue, studio Deux Point Deux, Galerie Saltiel, Aix-en-Provence

2014

- Parazasites, exhibition catalogue, studio Deux Point Deux, Galerie La ZAC, Brest

2013

- Sans Titre, testimony of the performance Désincarné, studio Deux Point Deux, Ballet d'Europe, Marseille-Provence 2013

2011

- Vas-y, artist's book, studio Deux Point Deux, On Off Galerie, Marseille 


Collaborations (selection)

2019

- Pierre de plus, documentary realized by Paul Chabot - Les Beaux Matins, Musée de l'Imprimerie, Nantes

2016

- Résolution(s), documentary realized by Paul Chabot - Les Beaux Matins, Centre National de Céramique d'Art - Sidi Kacem Jelizi, Tunis

2015

- Festival Les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre, projection on the building of la Minoterie, Nort-sur-Erdre 

2014

- Festival Les Nuits d'été, digital installation, Chinon

2013

- Désincarné, perfomance born from the meeting of the choreographer Jean-Charles Gil (Ballet d'Europe) and Toma-L, Marseille-Provence 2013, Allauch

- Marquage Culotte, first clip of the quartet Ni, conducted by Paul Chabot - Les Beaux Matins, Moulin de Brainans, Brainans

New artworks

Texts