Manolo Chrétien - Reportage on France 3
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Manolo Chrétien "Grand Dakota Tail"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 87"
Manolo Chrétien "Grand Dakota"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 87"
Manolo Chrétien "Grand Exocet, Ed. I/III"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 87"
Manolo Chrétien "Blue Shark, Ed. I/III"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 87"
Manolo Chrétien "Phantomatic, Ed. V/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "P51 Mustang"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
48" x 70"
Manolo Chrétien "Mariner, Ed. II/III"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 87"
Manolo Chrétien "Connie Door, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 44"
Manolo Chrétien "DC-6 Wing, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 44"
Manolo Chrétien "Mirage 4000, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
44" x 44"
Manolo Chrétien "Connie Chrome, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Connie Wing, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Connie Fuse, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Flying Mig 17, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Swiss Connie, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Rafale Proto, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Constellation, Ed. I/II"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
40" x 80"
Manolo Chrétien "Cara(velle), Ed. I/II"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
40" x 80"
Manolo Chrétien "Monster H, Ed. III/V"
Dye sublimation aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Sharkskin, Ed. VII/X"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Mig-17 F, Ed. II/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 43"
Manolo Chrétien "Mig-17 Radar, Ed. II/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 43"
Manolo Chrétien "Tomcat, Ed. IV/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 43"
Manolo Chrétien "Learjet, Ed. I/V"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
51" x 51"
Manolo Chrétien "Nose de Gaulle, Ed. II/X"
Dye sublimation on aluminum
55" x 55"
Manolo Chrétien "Vampire, Ed. VIII/X" SOLD
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Concorde II, Ed. V/V" SOLD
Dye sublimation on aluminum
43" x 43"
Manolo Chrétien "Concorde Cockpit, Ed. I/V" SOLD
Dye sublimation on aluminum
36" x 71"
Manolo Chrétien "Swiss Star, Ed. I/II" SOLD
Dye sublimation on aluminum
55" x 55"
Manolo Chrétien "Concorde Cab H, Ed. I/II" SOLD
Dye sublimation on aluminum
40" x 80"
Manolo was born in Orange, France on a French Air Force base. He graduated from the prestigious ENSAAMA in Paris in 1991. Fascinated by the world of machines, aeronautics, in particular, Manolo Chrétien’s work references his childhood memories: a universe made of bright aluminum, hot tarmac and kerosene smells. It is essential for Manolo Chrétien to recapture the innocence of his vision as a child and to reveal the wonderment he felt.
In recent years, his work has taken on a minimalist approach. Planes, cars, spaceships are the symbols of a world constantly moving and pushing boundaries. They are considered to be the mirror of human ambition. Manolo Chrétien is interested in playing with the purity of forms; as plane designs are so fluid for aerodynamic purposes, their outlines tend to be pure and organic. With this, he brings a new and original dimension to photography. Determined to keep coherence between the subject and material, Manolo Chrétien uses a technique of print on brushed aluminum, the metal used for the body of planes. He calls it Aluminations; a brilliant mix of illuminations, hallucinations, and aluminum. His series Nouveaux-Nez is the result of face-to-face interaction between the artist and the aircraft he has seen taking off and landing from Paris to Tucson since his early childhood.
Critics have recognized Manolo’s artworks since 1998 with the first series of photographs on the theme of boats, called Effets Mer. His 2002 series Juste-Ciel was a broad success, followed in 2007 by New York Citillusions. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in France, Germany, China, the Netherlands, the UK, and Canada. Manolo currently lives and works between Blois and Paris.
[ARTICLE IN FRENCH] Il reconnaît avoir, comme ses frères et son père (le spationaute breton Jean-Loup Chrétien), un ADN qui a besoin de vitesse et de performance. Artiste , Manolo Chrétien s’intéresse à la dynamique des fluides. L’aluminium est sa matière. Sa quête est « l’alumination », entendez le besoin d’éblouissement. Graphiste, photographe plasticien, il regarde le ciel depuis la terre. Il avait prévenu qu’il serait timide, impressionné. En fait, il s’est préparé au portrait. A choisi une phrase de l’écrivain Christian Bobin où il se reconnaît : « Les poètes sont des enfants ininterrompus, des regardeurs de ciel, impossibles à élever ».
He says he works in a "visionary" universe, and as such, Manolo Chrétien is an extraordinary photographer. "I call my work 'Aluminations', because it’s a mixture of aluminum, hallucinatory and visionary images, and I think it representative of me because I am a true visionary."
A visionary of the air, who, being the son of the well known French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien, Manolo grew up near the tarmac of military base 115 in Orange (southern France). The planes, the metal, its curves and undulations, were a childhood passion today transformed into the medium of print supports, although he does not print his photos on conventional photographic paper but on aluminum sheets.
