A Modern Day Surrealist
In the Parisian suburb of Noisy-le-sec, Michel Boutboul was born in 1951, the eighth of sixteen children, taking his place amidst a tribe of nine brothers and six sisters. Life in the blue collar region was not tilled with luxury, but it had the comforts of home for the young Boutboul and his remaining clan of siblings, some of whom were approaching their exodus from the family nest. As the son of a butcher, Alfred and his wife Louise, a devoted mother and ,homemaker, Boutboul's artistic talents lay dormant for the first decade of his life-- until eventually awakened by his elementary school instructor, Professor Vandalon, a man who cast an everlasting impression on the would-be illusionistic surrealist.
Le Masque 1, 48" x 60" oil / acrylic on canvas
Boutboul's road to success would be a winding one filled with life's many dramas, consequently testing his patience and belief at every turn of the ride. Following marriage at the age of eighteen, a barely legal Boutboul found himself in a precarious web of love, one that would have his new bride place a request of him to put his artistic career on hold. Her groom would appease, hence suppressing his desire to paint, a stagnant period that would last another decade. Over the course of these years, Boutboul excelled as a professional soccer player and a French champion in billiards.
Consumed with his passion for surrealism, Boutboul shockingly discovered one of the greatest artists of the Surrealist Art Movement, Salvadore Dali. Dismayed to uncover works which mirrored his own, Boutboul was crushed that someone had already mastered what he considered to be his personal style. A two year pictorial sabbatical followed, an interval where he would immerse himself into a period of sculpture. Rejuvenated, confident, and strongly represented by a socially connected agent, Boutboul was introduced into dignitary circles, affording him frequent exhibitions around France, eventually winning him such clients as Russian Ministers and French Senators. Forever disenchanted with empty opportunity, Boutboul remained internally unsettled, hence provoking his decision to depart Europe and travel to the United States, igniting a glimmer of light within.
Reflecting more than a quarter century, several dissolved marriages, five children, and the healer of all...'TIME'...the curative nurturer of Boutboul's multi-developmental transitions, the merely evidently instrumental in Boutboul's personal journey to finding inner peace and success. His muse, Inga, a partner of matrimony , the matriarch of his South Florida abode, the woman who evoked a Russian loveliness, blindly culpable for Boutboul's American bliss.
Cible Astrale 1, 48" x 60" oil on canvas
With innumerable paintings sold throughout the United States, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and Canada, Boutboul's works are forever in demand. Furthermore, his talents also range of classic italian Renaissance, French Louis XV, Medieval, Mediterranean, and ultramodern techniques, enhanced by his expertise in tromp l'oeil, frescoes, and murals. Boutboul finds himself painting up masterpieces in some of Miami's most prestigious neighborhoods, multimillion dollar estates on Golden Beach, Williams Island, Indian, Creek, Golden Gate, Star Island, Aventura, and Bal Harbour. In January 2019, Michel Boutboul sold 2 paintings at a New York auction.
Michel Boutboul, Salvadore Dali, Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, Paul Delvaux, or Rene Malgritte, all illusionistic surrealists. Boutboul's works execute the precision of natural expression of the unconscious mind, highly realistic representations of esoteric hallucinations.
For more information about Michel Boutboul, please see the following links to his websites.
OPENING RECEPTION: June 8 from 6pm to 9pm.
Exhibition: June 8 to June 29
WALT GIRDNER GALLERY
27 South El Molino Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 817-9083
www.waltgirdnerstudio.com
