BEDROOM WALLS IN HARLEM

Where do my ideas come from? I was walking on Malcolm X Blvd one day at about 2pm… when I fell into conversation with a young woman who told me she was coming out of a three day rave party and was famished. I noticed she had an amazingly shaped head and narrow neck with a unique profile. I asked if she would model for me, in return I would cook up a big feed for her. She accepted.

After devouring scrambled eggs with melted cheddar cheese, collard greens and sweet potatoes washed down with black coffee, she was ready to model. She sat still on a chair in my studio as I did a twenty minute pencil drawing of her head in perfect profile. When we were done, she felt dizzy and asked me if she could lay down on the little yoga mat on the floor. Sure, I said, and brought her a pillow and a blanket. Within seconds she was snoring. On closer look at the pillow I noticed she was drooling.
Several years later I painted her portrait from that profile drawing. I usually follow this procedure: From all possible sources, make studies in pencil, store them in boxes to marinate for long periods before some of those drawings become paintings.

Not all ideas come from Harlem, but this one came to me while I was having my hair cut at a fancy neighborhood hair relaxing salon called “Pizzazz.” I soon became fascinated by postures and gestures from all these women standing and grooming their female clients sitting in salon chairs. Something very Egyptian about that scene from everyday life. The challenge here was to achieve unity in the whole. From memory I worked and from imagination I dressed them all in white.

The decision to hold a solo show in my bedroom came to me when I cleared all the furniture except the bed — and hung 28 recent paintings salon style. In the closet behind a curtain for a door hangs a painting that depicts a taboo waiting to come out. The room, which is on the top floor of a brownstone town house, has exquisite proportions with three windows facing south onto a large courtyard. It is a sunny and quiet oasis — offering the possibility to view the work, of mostly intimate situations on a variety of orientations, in a context of intimacy. The north facing studio will also be open to visitors. For those who are curious about the ancient Egyptian process that goes into the making of these casein paintings, they will find the recipe there.

I have lived and worked between Harlem and Montréal since 2002. All paintings are produced in Harlem and — so far — all exhibitions have taken place in Canada.

YVES TESSIER: BEDROOM WALLS IN HARLEM / OPENING SUNDAY APRIL 5 / 5–8 PM

APRIL 5 — AUGUST 2 BY APPOINTMENT
78 WEST 119TH STREET, THIRD FLOOR, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10026
YVES.TESSIER@YAHOO.COM
917 561 6371

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