Philippe Emmanuel LAMESCH

philippelamesch.com

@philippelamesch

ARTIST STATEMENT

Trained as a traditional printmaker at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the KALA Art Institute in Berkeley, I have reinvented the use of classical printmaking techniques to create ‘printed collages’.

In my recent series, my process starts with the creation of cut-out paper shapes on which I print, draw or paint. I then use these shapes as elements to create painterly compositions. Over the last couple of years I have started to add found objects such as ripped off worn poster pieces collected in cities all over the world. I combine these with the printed shapes to create intricate urban collages.

BIOGRAPHY

Philippe Emmanuel Lamesch, artist and biologist from Luxembourg, discovered his passion for printmaking shortly after moving to Boston in 2001. It was here that he joined the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and took printmaking classes for the first time. He was fascinated by the endless possibilities that the various media of printmaking offer, and under the guidance of artist and teacher Catherine Kernan he explored different printmaking techniques from monoprint to woodcut and copper etching. A biomedical researcher by training, Lamesch enjoyed how printmaking techniques, just like research protocols, require an eye for detail but also a tremendous amount of creativity. Encouraged by the success of his first solo show in Luxembourg in 2003, Lamesch continued working in the medium of printmaking, soon focusing his work on copper etching. Aside from the technical aspect of the printmaking process, Lamesch especially enjoyed the textures and details that he was able to create using techniques such as aquatint, spitbite and hardground etching. Using these techniques, and specialising in multi-plates prints, the artist started to create works inspired by his imagination of the microscopic molecular world that he is confronted with on a daily basis in the laboratory.

In 2007, Lamesch moved to the US West Coast, and became a member of the prestigious KALA Art Institute in Berkeley. During his 6 year-stay at KALA he met some of the most well-known printmakers of California and many visiting artists from around the world. Influenced especially by his fellow artists from Asia, he developed a deep interest in the many different types of Japanese papers and how the choice of paper can have a major impact on the end result of your print. Upon his return to Luxembourg in 2012, the artist started to experiment with collages, still with the focus on using various types of papers to create effects of depth and transparency. Lamesch quickly entered the art scene in Luxembourg not only as an artist but also as a curator. In 2014, Lamesch and three of his friends create the non-profit organization ‘Art2Cure’ with the mission to stage artfundraiser where revenue is split evenly between the artist and a good cause. In just four years, the young organization managed to raise over 200,000 EUR for biomedical research, promoted over 40 talented artists from the region, and managed to stage its first international exhibition in New York City. In recent months the artist was fortunate to be invited by several prominent Luxembourgish artists to join them for various ‘duo’ shows, including exhibits with photographer Ben Loder, painter Belen Irazola and graffiti artist Daniel Mac Lloyd.