Daniel CASTAN
Daniel CASTAN
Daniel has been drawing since he was very young and honed his brushstrokes at the Beaux Arts.
After graduating, he worked as a graphic designer, created his own company, and carried out work for UNICEF, Pierre Balmain, and the UN. At forty, he questioned his choices, which kept him away from creation. From his encounter with the painter Pierre Doutreleau, the desire to become an artist and live his dream was born. During his first professional life, Daniel traveled extensively to New York and Hong Kong. From these trips, he retained a fascination for urban worlds and vast perspectives. He tried to recreate these graphic atmospheres in his paintings. The lines of the buildings disappear into the sky, the wide avenues seem endless, the colors clash. At first, Daniel worked from photographs he took himself. Then, canvas after canvas, imbued with images of Brooklyn, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, he ended up creating more personal views of New York from his imagination. Today, only the work on light, the perspective obscuring all superfluous details.
Daniel chooses to paint with alkyd oil. It works like traditional oil, but its binder allows for accelerated drying, reflecting his temperament. Once the canvas is finished, he applies thick layers of glossy varnish to emphasize the luminosity of his subject. The knife, his preferred tool, allows him to work with paste, broad strokes, and to draw within the material. The choice of this instrument is no accident; the knife leaves no room for doubt. Daniel is impatient and lets himself be guided by the gesture.
In a few minutes, the canvas is covered in paint; he then adds more material and chisels it like a sculptor. The canvas quickly comes to life. A painter by instinct, Daniel lets the paint lead him towards an abstract and refined representation. His approach is not premeditated; Daniel doesn't think, he paints.
Talking about my painting? It's like asking a goldfish why it swims. It swims simply because it doesn't know how to do much else. You can marvel at the spectacle or find it sadly banal, but the fish doesn't care. All it asks is that no one come and take it out of the water
