Mathias Durand-Reinaldo , also known as Coccinella , was born on December 23, 1975 in Le Havre. French sculptor, artist and fashion designer. Created from recycled materials, his creations are metaphorical and hyper-realistic. They protest rampant urbanization and the decline of social and environmental values.
| Mathias Durand-Reinaldo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date of Birth | December 23, 1975 (43 years) |
| Place of Birth | Le Havre , France |
| Citizenship |  France |
| Occupation | artist , sculptor , fashion designer |
Biography
He was a student of the artist Jacques Leleu and worked together with the artist Sylvie Kamika from 1998 to 2003. He currently lives on the island of St. Maarten (Caribbean Islands).
Painting "Presidential Couple" and Detention in the Louvre [1]
On March 26, 2010, Mathias Durand-Reinaldo strolled through the streets of Paris, holding a full-length portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on his outstretched hands. Along with him was the operator, filming the reaction of passersby on camera
This two-meter painting entitled "The Presidential Couple" is made in the academic style of hyper-realism and is a stylization of the work of Jacques-Louis David. Nicolas Sarkozy is presented in the image of Napoleon the 1st, who holds the Kärcher washing apparatus in his hand. He has Rayban sunglasses in his buttonhole, and a key holder with an image of Mickey Mouse is attached to the hem of his jacket. On the imperial throne is a little volume of "Princess of Cleves", and in the background are visible bookshelves and French and European flags. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is depicted at the right edge of the picture. The viewer can only see her face, shoulder and arm, but no clothes are visible, which suggests that she is naked.
Having freely presented his painting at the entrance to the Paris book exhibition, the artist entered the courtyard of the Louvre. At the glass pyramid, he was stopped by security officers and demanded to close the picture with a cloth and leave the museum. Moreover, the operator was forbidden to shoot, so she had to obey and turn off the camera. Then they were stopped for the second time in Rivoli Street by police officers in civilian clothes.
This case was later described by art historian Thierry Salvatie, and then by writer Marie Darysek [2] , who devoted an article to him entitled “Insulting Majesty” in the Beaux Arts Magazine. She called the artist witty, and the style of his painting is half pompous, half tabloid.
2008 Senate Elections
On September 9, 2008, the artist officially nominated his candidacy for elections to the French Senate on the island of Saint-Martin [3] , which he considered to be an entertainment performance [4] . Some consider this step to be an artistic performance, others - a radical provocation. Contrary to expectations, his statement was accepted by the prefecture [5] .
Proclaiming the values of the cultural and natural heritage, he conducted an unusual election campaign that infuriated many. The artist gave shocking interviews and used the photo in a semi-nude form as an official portrait.
Taking advantage of his scandalous popularity, he made loud statements in the Caribbean press. On September 18, in the France-Antilles newspaper, he announced his intention to bribe the electorate, promising to refuse the senatorial payment and give it to voters if he was elected to the post of senator. On September 20, he appeared in a news release of RFO on a bicycle, wearing a pink fur coat, and said that the position of senator is not needed, and it is better to motivate teams that are already working in the field. This politically incorrect statement only reflected public opinion regarding these elections, in which everything was already predetermined [6] . Nevertheless, his current political statements, which were published a week before the elections in the editions of The Daily Herald and The Week and in which he proposed solutions to many problems, gained a certain popularity for the artist and made other candidates pay attention to environmental and social problems, and the loss of the cultural identity of the island of St. Maarten.
Notes
- Atch Saatchi Art: Un couple presidentiel Painting by Mathias Durand-reynaldo (English) . Saatchi Art. The appeal date is January 27, 2018.
- ↑ Beaux Arts Magazine No. 310, June 2010, p. 10
- ↑ http://news.sxmsaintmartin.com/resultat_index.php?numero=09092008&keyword=coccinella
- ↑ Coccinella decided to perform under his artistic pseudonym and play a cultural and ecological card. This trick was insane, but his program is structured and sustainable. He presented the program in the press in the form of an "open letter of a young artist who watches in impotence of the decline of his native island", where each item is described in a very methodical manner. Marise Lafleur, France-Antilles, September 18, 2008
- ↑ http://www.senat.fr/senateurs/elections/2008/liste_candidats.pdf
- ↑ Future Senator Louis-Constant Fleming declared himself the winner of the election two months before they began in circulation, published in St Martin Week on July 28, 2008, contrary to the decision of the council to deprive him of the right to nominate his candidacy due to previous accounts election campaign before the election of the President of the Council of St. Maarten.