Nathalie Si Pié: Delicacy of a pixelated world

Hello Nathalie. Thank you for agreeing to this interview! Let's take a quick look at how you got started. How did your artistic career begin? Was it a vocation?

I've always painted and drawn, ever since I was a child. Before I started at the Beaux-Arts, I was already researching different pictorial techniques, drawing inspiration from works that stood out for me. I've always been on the lookout for different processes. In that sense you could call it a vocation.

You graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Angoulême. What happened next? How did you come to define your painting style?

After graduating from the Beaux-Arts, I turned to a very pure style of painting. In the course of intense research, this purity was built up through geometric abstraction. It was during this period that I placed the square at the centre of my work, creating multiple combinations linked to randomness.

I would say that my return to figurative art, linked to the "abstraction" of squares, was the result of my discovery of the painter Gerhard Richter. He allowed himself to open up all possibilities by visiting several fields of art. This discovery was a turning point in my pictorial work. Over the years, I've created my own unique style, combining figurative art and the abstraction of squares that have become pixels.

The notion of the pixel clearly characterises your work. What is the technique behind this original approach?

In my geometric canvases mentioned above, I painted each small flat area with a flat brush so that there were no rough edges. My current works are different in every way. The pixels are very often a mirror reflection of a figuratively painted landscape.

Now I'm looking to create a vibration in the pixels. To do this, I invented a very personal technique that enabled me to achieve the desired vibration.

I use blocks of polystyrene that are as dense as possible, from which I cut cubes with a cutter in sizes ranging from 5 to 20 mm, depending on the size of the work. I paint the pixels in successive strokes by dabbing the polystyrene cube coated with the desired colour onto the canvas.

It's a long-term process, but one that brings a unique originality to my work.

Oil and acrylic painting seem to hold no secrets for you. Does mastering different techniques give you more freedom?

I like to switch from one technique to another for completely different reasons. I paint the figurative part of my canvases in oil paint because it gives them fluidity and allows more time for reflection because of the longer drying time, which acrylics don't allow.

Conversely, because acrylics dry more quickly on my polystyrene 'tool/cube', I can quickly move from one colour nuance to another. At the same time, mastering these techniques gives me greater freedom to tackle a wide variety of subjects.

Pixels are very often the mirror reflection of a figuratively painted landscape.

I invented a very personal technique that enabled me to achieve the desired vibrancy.

Some of your paintings are much more figurative, with few or no pixelated elements. These include "Bord de mer en soirée", " Soir d'été" and "La maison bleue sur l'île". Do they have a different meaning?

I do occasionally have 'asides' without pixelated elements. There's no precise reason for this. Perhaps it's a question of my mood at the time. In the same way, I paint very different themes depending on the season or what I'm feeling. I'm always opening up the possibilities!