Richard MERIC

Title: Le Cirque Univers 1989 | 150x150cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"Commission work intended to be hung on the ceiling of a dentist's office. The practitioner was keen on circus and astronomy, which gave the general theem of the painting. At the four angles are the statues sculpted by Michel Ange for the tomb of Laurent de Médicis; they symbolize morning, day, evening and night."

Title: "E= MC²" 1981 | 100x80cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"Illustrations of Albert Einstein's theories."

Title: "An Early dream of Sigmund FREUD" 1982 | 140x140cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"The title of the Painting is an allusion to a study of Freud on Michel Angelo: the psychologist had believed he discovered in one of the paintings of the Master a bird involuntarily dissimulated in the folds of draped cloth, whereas it was well obvious that it was Freud himself who "had seen" this appearance created by his own unconscious projections. Originally, the picture is inspired by a text of Arthur Koestler describing a group of old persons sitting on a bank, each one locked up in his interior loneliness. The group can still be found in the shop window as well as at the top part, in the public square.

"The inspiration then moved towards the Psychology of C.G.Jung in parallel with a deep search in speculative Alchemy which largely influenced some of the settings in the general scene: the basin in the egg shape from where the spiral of light spouts out, and various other symbolic aspects which the initiate will be able to read and interpret. The aesthetic aspect is reinforced by the central column of colors which connects them various appearances of S. Freud. The mixing of two different periods in the clothing (middle of XXth century and Middle age) sets up a link from Psychology to Alchemy. The title "Arts and Antiquities" which is writen in transparency on the shop window has also a meaning. The preparation of the picture required more than one year, many pre-drawings, the realization extended on more than eight month."

Title: "Aglou 2" 1981 | 80x100cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"Realized during the second and third years which followed Aglou 1, this painting shows in a repetitive way two opposite characters: Charles Darwin, apostle of Rationality, and Salvador Dali, master of Irrationality.

Apparent disorder extremely organized built according to strict and complex geometrical and mathematical structures, which required more than a whole year of preparation. The centre is elaborated starting from a geometric progression borrowed from M.C.Escher who, better than whoever can symbolize the bridge between the rigid logic of the geometry and the dream of the artist.

One also finds in the still life in bottom on the right, an ordered representation of the signs of the zodiac in the form of animals or symbolic elements in reference to mythology (Persée killing Gorgona within a portrait in double image of S.Dali, for example). Only the people initiated to certain esoteric knowledge are able to seize the hidden meaning of these symbols, which does not prevent every one from interpreting them by his own way."

Title: "Aglou 3" 1983 | 130x130cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"This third version of the painting realized five years after the first one is, just like the series of the Arcanes of the Tarot, placed under the sign of the Duality Female/Masculine.

Besides one finds there the majority of the elements which are the central subjects of these pictures (see my Tarot cards). The masculine is registered in the red spiral in top on the right, the female one in the blue spiral which makes him opposite. The central spiral sees both merging in an androgyny with two heads, symbolizing the psychic unification of Animus and of Anima beloved by C.G.Jung. The whole of the painting is largely placed under the sign of Jung's psychology and of speculative Alchemy, which does not prevent a certain ludic and purely aesthetics reality.

The four appearances of the kiss of Rodin confirm the topic of the union of the opposites. The mask of Satan in bottom of the chessboard on top of Christ's last meal and with his apostles precedes the developments of fourth Aglou on the coexistence of "good" and "evil"."

Title: "Aglou 4" 1985-86 | Tryptich 260x130 cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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Last version of the serie "Agloo", conceived and realized in 1985/86 (triptych 260x130 cm.), which expresses the accession to a certain balance, the agreement of harmony and disorder.

Primarily inspired by studies in the field of Speculative Alchemy, the painting is built on the opposition Blue/Red which are allotted to Dali-El Salvador (the saver) and to Christ, other saver, who appears with thirteen recoveries in the form of variations around the image of the Shroud of Turin. Richard Méric appears himself Ten times, committed in various tasks: because the subject of this image is indeed the share of alchemical Work that the researcher must carry out in himself and in the world in order to achieve a harmonization of his contradictory tendencies.

The image of Christ adopts, in her various forms located on the chessboard, the scenes featuring the four Cardinal Virtues (Force, Temperance, Justice and Prudence: in blue), and Seven Sins, in red in bottom of the left panel. Richard himself has his face confused with that of Malignant in the centre of this same panel, represented by the mask of Satan already present on the chessboard of "Aglou 3" and in the arcane of the Devil in the tarot."

Title: "The Gardens of Memory" conceived from 1979 to 1983, realized from 1983 to 1985 | Tryptich 440x120cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"The painting is composed starting from portraits or elements of portraits of Artists (220 on the whole) according to the principle of the double image: in the faces of Picasso, Mozart, Beethoven, and of many others, I interpreted the play of light and shadow to create various characters and scenes. It was then necessary to structure these elements into logical settings. The three general topics: “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” “Tower of Babel” and “Temptation of St. Anthony” were not premeditated, but evolved in the process of design and realization.

During the four years of preparation, the project comprised SEVEN square panels, from which only the two extremes remained: for practical and financial reasons, I had to convince myself, not without difficulty, to condense the five other panels into a central one.

A great number of portraits in double images, scenes and characters thus disappeared from the final result, serving to densify and enhance the middle of the tableau and to confer a positive aspect to it, as well as to render the overall painting more accessible. The designs and structures were conceived progressively, according to the needs of the subjects drawn: thus the belated appearance of the tower. One will also notice that the extreme edges on the right and on the left can be joined, therefore the image, in the horizontal direction, has neither beginning nor end."

Title: "The Gardens of Memory" 1979-1985 | Left panel 120x120cm. from the Tryptich 440x120cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"The painting is composed starting from portraits or elements of portraits of Artists (220 on the whole) according to the principle of the double image: in the faces of Picasso, Mozart, Beethoven, and of many others, I interpreted the play of light and shadow to create various characters and scenes. It was then necessary to structure these elements into logical settings. The three general topics: “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” “Tower of Babel” and “Temptation of St. Anthony” were not premeditated, but evolved in the process of design and realization.

During the four years of preparation, the project comprised SEVEN square panels, from which only the two extremes remained: for practical and financial reasons, I had to convince myself, not without difficulty, to condense the five other panels into a central one.

A great number of portraits in double images, scenes and characters thus disappeared from the final result, serving to densify and enhance the middle of the tableau and to confer a positive aspect to it, as well as to render the overall painting more accessible. The designs and structures were conceived progressively, according to the needs of the subjects drawn: thus the belated appearance of the tower. One will also notice that the extreme edges on the right and on the left can be joined, therefore the image, in the horizontal direction, has neither beginning nor end."

Title: "The Gardens of Memory" 1979-1985 | Central panel 120x120cm. from the Tryptich 440x120cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"The painting is composed starting from portraits or elements of portraits of Artists (220 on the whole) according to the principle of the double image: in the faces of Picasso, Mozart, Beethoven, and of many others, I interpreted the play of light and shadow to create various characters and scenes. It was then necessary to structure these elements into logical settings. The three general topics: “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” “Tower of Babel” and “Temptation of St. Anthony” were not premeditated, but evolved in the process of design and realization.

During the four years of preparation, the project comprised SEVEN square panels, from which only the two extremes remained: for practical and financial reasons, I had to convince myself, not without difficulty, to condense the five other panels into a central one.

A great number of portraits in double images, scenes and characters thus disappeared from the final result, serving to densify and enhance the middle of the tableau and to confer a positive aspect to it, as well as to render the overall painting more accessible. The designs and structures were conceived progressively, according to the needs of the subjects drawn: thus the belated appearance of the tower. One will also notice that the extreme edges on the right and on the left can be joined, therefore the image, in the horizontal direction, has neither beginning nor end."

Title: "The Gardens of Memory" 1979-1985 | Right panel 120x120cm. from the Tryptich 440x120cm.
Oil Painting on Canvas by Richard Meric
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"The painting is composed starting from portraits or elements of portraits of Artists (220 on the whole) according to the principle of the double image: in the faces of Picasso, Mozart, Beethoven, and of many others, I interpreted the play of light and shadow to create various characters and scenes. It was then necessary to structure these elements into logical settings. The three general topics: “Fall of the Rebel Angels,” “Tower of Babel” and “Temptation of St. Anthony” were not premeditated, but evolved in the process of design and realization.

During the four years of preparation, the project comprised SEVEN square panels, from which only the two extremes remained: for practical and financial reasons, I had to convince myself, not without difficulty, to condense the five other panels into a central one.

A great number of portraits in double images, scenes and characters thus disappeared from the final result, serving to densify and enhance the middle of the tableau and to confer a positive aspect to it, as well as to render the overall painting more accessible. The designs and structures were conceived progressively, according to the needs of the subjects drawn: thus the belated appearance of the tower. One will also notice that the extreme edges on the right and on the left can be joined, therefore the image, in the horizontal direction, has neither beginning nor end."