Cyrille Margarit: An Exhibition of Passion

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Category: Art, Museums, Galleries

Published on Wednesday, 12 February 2014 16:15

Written by Janet Walker

Internationally known French artist Cyrille Margarit's newest collection of work premiered to an invitation-only group of art collectors, media representatives, and artists at a cocktail reception held at the Bruno Jamais Supper Club on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The collection that showcased the passionate work of an equally passionate artist featured four different themes of concentration: La Vie en Rose, Africa, Celebrity and New York. 

Mr. Margarit was kind enough to allow time for an interview and highly descriptive and animated in his explanation of the current collection.His charming French accent greeted me as he introduced himself and began to explain La Vie en Rose, the work closest to us at that moment. "I chose this theme," he stated, "La Vie en Rose, because I love to be optimistic in my life."  The three-piece collection featured a full view of the back of a nude woman with the passionate colors of pink, yellow and red in blend. Charcoal lines accentuated the natural curve of the model's figure. The explosion of colors faded one to another, leaving the individual to interpret the artistic expression.

As we continued the interview, the depth of commitment to his work was obvious as he spoke, revealing a level of intimacy usually reserved for personal relationships and with that a hidden vulnerability.  When asked why he chose New York as his passion erupted, "New York is magnetic to me.  It is my life! It is my woman: It is my everything!" 

He paused for just one moment, his vulnerability showing, "To me, New York is my universe, it is where I want to belong." The New York collection surrounded us and he began to explain the artistry of digitally transforming the cold gray steel structure of the Chrysler Building into poetic red passion. The Empire State Building became blended and digitally enhanced in blue and yellow colors that calm and quiet the soul.

He explained how he found his soul, "When you discover a place at eighteen years old and you know something is going to happen and you know that one day you will come back at a certain time and you will be able to seize your destiny that is New York."

The Africa Exhibition was a collage of colors that would rival the original beauty of the African countryside. Each piece is a signature. Even if similar, no two pieces are the same. Mr. Margarit's current Celebrity collection was represented by a single piece: Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson.  He especially enjoyed working with the former boxing champ and mentioned his love of photographing him. He also photographed Madonna who he says, "possesses amazing energy which was incredible to capture on film."

Initially, I made a common error of calling his works paintings. "It is like I am a painter but I am not." I asked him what he meant.  He stated, "I am completely working with digitally enhanced tools. I am really honest on that. Everything that is here is from my photography and after I take the photo I am re-working on the material, on the color, on the setting, on the transformation." The digital photos are projected onto brushed Aluminum. He smiled, "And that is my job."