The Nouvel Art Showroom

Sculptor Nicole Brousse creates timeless works that blend the classical and the modern, while pursuing an inner quest to know herself better.

She has come to see her artistic and personal explorations as intertwined, seeking to recapture the essence of life through her art.

Born in Paris and trained at the Arts Décoratifs, Gilles Grimon spent twenty-five years illustrating for the press, advertising and publishing, working for many big names such as Le Nouvel Observateur, Marie-Claire and Hachette. Since 2005, he has devoted himself entirely to painting, and after spells in London and Milan, he now lives in Provence.

Jaana Myöhänen was born in Finland, which she left soon after her teenage years to settle in France, where she has lived ever since. It was only after several detours that she found her art: direct stone carving, which, the moment she discovered it, made her say “this is it” — what she had been searching for for more than 10 years. She started out as a makeup artist at the opera, where she discovered and enhanced the bodies and faces that run through her work: bodies and faces in balance, bursting forth with exaltation. After a stint in theater as a set designer, she moved closer to sculpture by working with ceramics while also learning modeling, shaping clay in full volume. René Coutelle, her mentor for more than 2 years, introduced her nearly fifteen years ago to stone and direct carving, and she has never left this art since. 

His work and his stone carving are striking: on one hand, the sculptures are detailed and realistic; on the other, they evolve into cubic and rectangular blocks, giving the impression of a construction or deconstruction in progress. A contrast between smoothness and roughness that plays with ideas of form and transformation. “Some sculptures make you want to touch them, and that is what makes me want to sculpt. A two-toned woman, a sleeping woman, another transforming into a geometric construction carved in stone, an onyx bird, a bear carved in wood and his Panthervrier in bronze. It is a world ruled by poetry that I have come to present.”

David Abisror’s drawings carry the tangled lines of every dreamed-of head of hair – the heavy, fragrant tresses poets make us imagine; those we barely glimpse, drifting far away; the stray locks brushed aside with a fingertip, right beside a beloved face…

His fantastical world is inspired by his many trips to India and Tibet, where he met the Dalai Lama three times. Above all, it is driven by the idea of movement, one line leading to another, with nothing planned in advance: pencil in hand, he lets himself be guided by the energy within him… the pencil’s direction creating this intricate tangle, while he watches what unfolds…

Françoise and Pascal Luciani founded Luciani Création in 2020, with two studios and a gallery space in the heart of the village of Sablet in Provence, where they show and create their works for interior design projects. Luciani Création brings together two complementary artistic worlds. One draws its inspiration from photography, the mastery of light and retouching, honed by years of working alongside imaging and art direction professionals. This technical expertise now serves a more intimate form of expression, close to the primal sources of creation.

“Exploring the question of how space is divided.” The other is rooted in applied arts and graphic design, where geometric abstraction becomes an endless field of exploration. Line, the division of space and paper construction give rise to works where precise gesture meets intuition. Layering, offsets, colorful rhythms: paper becomes a living material, revealing a graphic space vibrant with light and texture.

Pierre Sgamma is a French painter born in 1961. His works never fail to unsettle the viewer. His fantastical, even surrealist compositions disturb, trouble, shake and sometimes shock. Pierre Sgamma unfolds an original, unique universe throughout his work; his visual vocabulary is astonishing and his compositions provocative. The artist seeks by every means to invite viewers to reflect on themselves, their personality, their flaws… To do so, he brings all of humanity’s shadowy areas into the light on his canvases. His works are best appreciated as so many dialogues between the artist and the viewer who stands face to face with them. The artist pushes us toward introspection, hoping his paintings will act as a trigger for the viewer. Bordering on Symbolism, Pierre Sgamma’s canvases are implicit representations of good and evil, where every object and every symbol takes on meaning alongside the others. Culture, religion and fantasy go hand in hand here.

David Nicolas Djordjevic started out in abstraction before turning to “figuration, a bigger challenge, a vehicle for more concrete discussions and more interesting themes.” His creations are populated by hybrid creatures, zoomorphic or robot-headed. David Nicolas Djordjevic paints a blend of the things that dwell within him: the fear of death, mythology, comics, Japanese animation, tales of chivalry, robots, and even a little religion. All these worlds intertwine in his paintings. 

Doro.T, the imprint of a moment

After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Doro-T has been a painter and visual artist for more than 40 years, constantly developing new techniques as ideas and materials evolve, without ever putting down her brushes. Having moved on from delicate figurative work, she now practices abstract art while conveying a reality that speaks to us.

It’s you. It’s me. It’s them. People, as we call them.

These figures, glimpsed in motion against abstract backgrounds, are almost life-size silhouettes captured in the city, at receptions, in waiting rooms, on café terraces, in a bar.

Fleeting moments. Encounters. The emotion of a passing instant on a canvas of colors, textures and harmonies.

A certified instructor, Doro-T has also taught all painting techniques since 1990. She has exhibited at various prestigious salons, receiving distinctions at the Salon d’Automne, the Carrousel du Louvre and the Grand Palais, and is represented by many galleries.

Listed in the Akoun art price guide since 2010

Based in the Vaucluse, Nessuno has followed an unconventional path: a gifted, hyperactive, entirely self-taught artist. An emerging talent, he works with many materials, but metal remains his medium of choice. Over the years he has honed his mastery of welding and metal-shaping techniques. His unique, playful creations are defined by clean graphic lines that reveal a minimalist, contemporary aesthetic. In every piece, Nessuno weaves in elements of design and graphic composition: restrained, controlled lines, geometric shapes and visual simplicity.

Each piece is one of a kind, an invitation into a world where simple forms conceal a singular artistic depth.

Olivier J. Leda-Weiss is a visual artist, musician and graphic designer born in the early 1980s. As a teenager he left France on his own for Belgium, where he later studied visual communication at the École des Arts Saint-Luc. It was there that he sharpened his creative eye while launching into graphic design. He also founded his own recording studio in Brussels to bring his many musical projects to life. Since 2022 he has lived in Vaison-la-Romaine, in Provence, where he devotes himself mainly to painting. Olivier J.LW conceives his works as pictorial ecosystems, delicately poised on the border between the tangible and the ethereal, the intimate and the enigmatic.

Art. A vast subject. The art of expression – on canvas, for instance. Over the years, Claude Petitjean has gained experience in contemporary art, but also in the art of saying, of expressing oneself and of helping others express themselves. The art of saying is my work in advertising: I have advised Michael Jackson, Carrefour, Accor, Europcar, Hilton, Miele… The art of expressing myself is my “work on myself…”, and finally, the art of helping others express themselves is my coaching through writing. Claude Roy said: “I write to read what I didn’t know I was going to write.” And I say to you: take a “blank sheet” and let’s correspond, to talk about art or to bring more ease to your professional and personal life. Galerie Petitjean, a gallery of portraits – including yours.

Her ink and watercolor paintings express her femininity, restrained emotion and hypersensitivity through abstract depictions of nature. Aude Costa loves movement, color and touches of acidity. Nature, on land and in water, is her source of inspiration and her key: gentle and poetic, yet also severe, perfectionist and precise. Aude Costa likes to take the time to observe its details and hidden sides. A graduate of ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres in Paris, she was long shaped by her work as an architectural designer and visual artist. Fabric allows her to use embroidery, giving her work a silky, three-dimensional quality; the thread, like a pencil, reproduces a structured gesture. Paper, for its part, stands for authenticity: like a dance, the paper drinks the ink and the water carried by the brush. This harmony cannot be fully controlled, because the alchemy of the two elements no longer truly belongs to her – as “it dries,” things happen… leaving the illusion that the result is beyond her control.

He really knows his wood! A trained carpenter and cabinetmaker, Jacques Jouvin (JAB, “Jouvin atelier bois”) combines his passion for wood and motorcycles in unique, elegant and refined creations. Inspired by boating, any resemblance between his work and famous Italian boats is anything but coincidental.

Beyond his own creations built on the Yamaha 650 XS, he also works with restoration professionals such as Alternative Side-car on high-end projects. Being both a motorcycle enthusiast and an expert carpenter-cabinetmaker isn’t enough to produce masterpieces on two wheels. It also takes a real sense of aesthetics, flawless technique and a few other assets.

After several years as a portrait photographer, I had to give up that work in 2019 for health reasons, much against my will.

“The idea for my collages came while reading fashion magazines in which products were showcased through collage, and from that moment I knew my new path was taking shape. Art has always been part of my life; I have worked in many artistic fields – fashion, floral design and, of course, photography. All of these fields are my life’s journey and are reflected in my collages. I would add that all my original collages are made by hand, using only carefully selected quality magazines.”

This 33-year-old self-taught artist comes from the south of France and currently lives in Les Baux-de-Provence. From an early age, Laura Dreyer had a highly creative mind ; drawing, painting, sculpture and photography became her main means of expression. 

This creative passion, pursued in her spare time, lay dormant for many years – until a sudden spark, when Laura felt a visceral need to express herself. She can’t explain it; she simply feels overwhelmed by a boundless imagination, like a sudden outpouring.

Nature, Femininity and Art Nouveau are her main sources of inspiration. Through works inspired by memories of her travels, the artist seeks to convey Wonder, Poetry and Escape. 

Photographing nature, immersing herself in it and highlighting its beauty. Photography lies at the heart of her creative process. Laura believes it is important to take the time to contemplate the Beauty all around us and to reveal the wonders nature offers – and in doing so, she shields herself from a world where everything moves too fast. What matters most is Emotion.

Born in Marseille in 1964, Francis Guerrier grew up in an artistic world. He left Provence for Paris, where he first trained at the Cours Florent to become an actor. He initially turned to stage directing, before embarking on a career designing sets and stage scenography alongside his “Master,” Pierre-Henri Magnin.

Today he devotes himself mainly to black steel sculptures whose slender, curving forms are inspired by nature. While he still creates sets and scenography to satisfy his passion for theater, it is in sculpting that he feels free, and he now focuses on monumental works that are nonetheless remarkably light and elegant.

Étienne Viard began sculpting in 1980, working with a wide variety of materials such as clay, stone, wood and glass. Since 1990 he has devoted himself entirely to steel. He deliberately limits himself to three basic techniques: folding, cutting and assembling. His sculptures, forged from steel sheets or bars, have a black patina or are left raw (Corten steel).

Combining spontaneity and reflection in his working methods, Étienne Viard produces pieces that unite pure minimalist form with an expressive, even romantic, sensitivity. His sculptures are a challenge thrown down by poetic flights of fancy to the properties of the raw material – a duel between the rigidity of metal and the suggestion of disorder. This duality shows in their wild outgrowths or their collapses toward entropy.

A self-taught artist, Henri-François Dumont has always been passionate about contemporary art. Over the years he began to sculpt, and with his very first sculptures he was invited to exhibit at the Grand Palais and at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 1992. He went on to exhibit at Art Elysées, Art Paris, Start, the Salon de Mai, Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui, Mac 2000 and various galleries. In recent years he was invited several times to show his latest sculptures at the Fondation Villa Datris exhibitions in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Drawing is the starting point for each of his sculptures, later developed through works on paper in India ink. After drawing in three dimensions, he builds his creation as scale models, which are then produced full size to arrive at the final shape and dimensions of the sculpture. In this way he has created nearly 300 pieces in resin, steel or bronze, many of them on the theme of the chair diverted from its function, followed by an abstract series exploring curves and circles. In his later years he produced a series of bronzes inspired by ecology, as well as by drawing

The sculptor translates into volume and space his hymn to nature – to the turbulent history of the nature we are part of.

“In my artistic practice, I explore the temporality of matter. I use industrial materials in my work, which I usually reshape to find the form that matches the idea. The second phase of my work consists of dematerializing these industrial materials – manufactured or salvaged – by accelerating the natural process of transformation. Through these processes I give myself complete freedom. My pieces are the result of this metamorphosis, conceived in an unreal temporality, a different space-time.”

Founder of the Galva brand in Nice, of Les Habits Neufs in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and of the Les Habits Neufs guesthouse concept in Sanary-sur-Mer.

Patricia Serodon has built her entire career – right up to her art – around materials. They inspire her and dictate her art. The old materials she carefully salvages from all over become her canvases. Patricia Serodon draws on their history to give birth to her own.

Transforming raw materials and their hidden values sparks a dialogue with her unconscious. Memories merge and her works become a conversation. Timeless, each piece reveals itself differently depending on how the material catches the light. Shapes and faces emerge. It is a new life, a new breath.

An artist who lives to the sound of the waves, where she draws the inspiration that finds its way onto her canvases – canvases that, without the painter’s touch, would have been thrown away. Just as the sea recycles humanity’s waste and serves as the blue lung of our planet, Patricia Serodon’s approach is part of a perpetual movement of recycling. Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed – and thus gains a new life.

Today, to the sound of the waves or in her studio hidden away in the countryside, Patricia Serodon paints. And with the dance of her brushes, a new journey begins.

After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and enjoying a prestigious career in the 1980s and ’90s as a creative in special effects and animatronics for advertising, film and TV (the Bébête Show), Michel Soubeyrand chose, 25 years ago, to refocus on his own creations, taking up sculpture – drawing on a perfect knowledge of materials and a love of modeling – as well as painting.

With deliciously ironic, biting and aesthetic humor, Michel Soubeyrand explores our unconscious through animality – our own animality. He pokes fun at our egos, turning us into extravagant characters from unbridled tales, legends and mythologies, as if reimagined by a comic-book artist working in three dimensions. 

He describes his work as sitting “between art toys and contemporary art.” While the spirit is resolutely pop, Soubeyrand has nothing in common with the pop, neo-pop and pseudo-kitsch imitators who plunder Jeff Koons, Wim Delvoye, Jan Fabre or Ron Mueck. He shares with the latter a sense of drawing and volume, high standards and technical mastery. He sculpts with talent and virtuosity, giving form to every idea. 

The man becomes “Dog Killer,” a cross between a dog and a Smurf, armed with a water pistol. He transforms into “Dog Vader,” wielding a laser bone, or, all green, into Dog Buzz. The woman flaunts the generous, silicone-enhanced curves of a Smurfette. She becomes the she-wolf taming the bull or the horse, and from their bodies many moods are born. She becomes a dog, lets herself be tied up, and appears submissive. 

The woman is always conquering, joyful, carnal and sensual. His characters overflow with pleasure, free of taboos yet never vulgar. Michel Soubeyrand is a truly popular artist, with a strong personality and a powerful body of work, who manages to convince us all, men and women, prudish or not, of the need to set our fantasies free.

L’art Brutal

After making a few short films, and after a career as an assistant director, director, screenwriter and dialogue writer… the paintbrush took the place of the pen. 

“‘L’Art Brutal’ was born at the start of the first Covid lockdown: a collection of vignettes, images or short stories, often with dialogue, depicting psycho-pathological situations from everyday life, as a continuation of my film work.” Hugues de Laugardiere