" Spontaneous, intuitive, interpretable... this is how I would describe my art, my meditation."
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"From the Earth to the Cosmos—a visual journey of colorful energies"
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ABOUT MAUD DESPEYROUX
INTRODUCTION
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“The cosmos is such an incredible space, where all the extremes are expressed, creating a balanced system consisting of contrary notions, like the known and unknown, full and
empty, limited and infinite, random and predictable... a space of imagination"
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Maud Despeyroux works to create abstract cosmos landscapes, using specific colors,
materials, and techniques, from which the visual energies will guide each observer toward their own perception.
As a contemporary abstract artist, she developed her own unique identity by combining
different techniques with innovative experiences through primary materials like sand, glass, and gold. She likes to create images that generate curiosity, pieces that—just like our universe—can be seen from far away as a holistic system or up close in great detail.
"Arctic Nebula", 2020
ART, A FAMILY AFFAIR
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Born on November 14, 1987 in Lyon, France, she grew up surrounded by her grandmother's
and ancestors’ oil paintings. Painting has always been part of her family on her mother's side, and Maud would develop her sensitivity for art through the years she spent seeing the paintings made by her grandmother, who had studied at Lyon’s "Les Beaux Arts."
She was filled with passion for art, but still not clear enough to build a future around it. She
studied to be a makeup artist and dreamt of entering the movie industry. A parallel passion for massages and meditation emerged at the time, which brought her to London to become a Spa Therapist in the city’s most prestigious palaces, like the Savoy and the Corinthia Hotel.
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At the age of 20, Maud lost her mom of lung cancer, only a couple of months after it had
been diagnosed. Losing her mother at this age would prove to be her greatest challenge, and pushed her to work even more to relieve the pain and keep her mind occupied.
"After my mom’s death, I had to have surgery on both hands. I had been practicing massage for years and I’ve no doubt that I transferred all the pain into my hands to compensate for her absence. It is quite paradoxical, but it was a relief for me to be able to heal pain in others with my massages and to give them a mental wellbeing that I was incapable of giving to myself. I gave a lot without listening to the warnings my body was sending me”.
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The surgery forced her to stop her work in the palaces, so she had to take a step back and
consider what she really wanted. "It felt like life was taking my mom and my own hands
away from me.”
Painting came back to her naturally as an alternative way of expressing herself.
"It felt like my hand surgery was meant to be, and I felt in the right place, following in my
ancestors’ footsteps. Painting became a necessity”.
TRAVELS, A FUEL FOR INSPIRATION
Asia has always been part of her roots, so she felt the need to go there to unearth different realities.
She decided to travel to Japan alone, specifically during the cherry-blossom season to admire thousands of pastel shades and experience all the scents of flowers that this time of the year has to offer.
At this time, it was important to awaken all the senses.
"Creativity comes from all types of memories; scents are as powerful as images.
I remember while visiting Koya San, walking through prodigious millennial cedars and pines, there was a connection through these trees—you could hear their whispers through the wind, I felt part of the Japanese landscape, like an ink drop in the valley..."
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A year later, she landed in Vietnam where she was able to admire peaceful and inspiring landscapes like Ha Long Bay, discover temples, connect with the kindness of the Vietnamese people and their rich culture. “There, again, all my senses were awakened thanks to the powerful scent of grapefruit blossom. I felt refueled by so much beauty“.
Both trips were mainly oriented around experiencing and learning about traditional painting techniques such as "Sumi-e" in Japan, which involves ink painting. Maud wanted to understand this typical art through regular practice with a local master, Pham Hà Linh, in
Hanoi, Vietnam.
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COSMOS AND PERCEPTION
Maud has always been fascinated by the cosmos and its inexplicable, infinite "empty" space, full of these beautiful waves of color.
She harnesses the sheer force of abstract art to explore the mystery of our universe and
present paintings that will toy with the observer's point of view. From the known to the
unknown, and vice versa. There is no unique answer to the interpretation but, just like our cosmos, it is probably infinite.
"In my work, I believe people will all agree on the subject, but what I am really looking for is to trigger a loss of bearings, a starting point to question everything”.
"Space Time 17", 2020
"From the Stars", 2018
