Till Rabus: artifice

15 November—21 December 2024

Till Rabus is a Swiss painter born in Neuchâtel in 1975, where he still lives and works today. Trained in engraving at the École d’Art Appliquée in La Chaux-de-Fonds, he taught painting at the Académie de Meuron in Neuchâtel. In 2023, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds dedicated a major retrospective to him, paying tribute to this artist, whose figurative and singularly contemporary works enrich the art of the region.

Born into a family of artists, Till Rabus is renowned for his oil paintings, which reinterpret classical techniques to create compositions as absurd as they are poetic. His creative process is based on meticulously prepared installations: each object is precisely arranged, photographed and then recreated on canvas. This methodical approach gives life to hyper-realistic works in which everyday objects, often playful or quirky, mingle with dreamlike settings or references to art history. This contrast between contemporary elements – balloons, toys, plastic objects – and classical landscapes lends his works a singular character, blurring the boundary between reality and imagination.

In Fantômes, balloons in the shape of ghostly faces seem to float between the dark trees of a forest, animated with a life of their own. The ribbons unfurling beneath the faces add an effect of movement, as if these ethereal spirits were gliding silently through the forest, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Similarly, in Champignons, brightly-colored balloons in the shape of mushrooms emerge from the forest floor, evoking a fairy-tale, almost childlike world. With their toy-like appearance, these inflatable elements contrast with the gravity of the natural setting, adding a touch of surrealism and blurring the lines between natural and artificial.

At the same time, Rabus revisits the codes of the classic still-life with his series Nature morte en plastique, in which he arranges plastic vegetables and stylized insects. Playing on the contrast between fake objects and a realistic pictorial rendering, he challenges our perception of reality, while offering a critical reflection on the place of artificial objects in our everyday environment. Through his works, Till Rabus explores the play of light, textures and reflections, offering a unique look at artifice in our contemporary world and building subtle bridges between different eras and artistic traditions.