The Transformative Layers of Alexandre Lenoir

Between dogs and wolves— Lenoir's sixth solo exhibition with Almine Rech at the Tribeca New York gallery— offers viewers a chance to observe these stunning works. 

The Parisian painter, who graduated with honors from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, had a number of well-received solo exhibitions during the early days of the pandemic— when quarantine policies shut things down. While people appreciated his art through online photographs and PDFs, they missed the in-person immersion. 

Lenoir is excited for more people to physically experience and enjoy the reality of his art. “You need to see a painting to experience it, to understand that there is something behind the image which you can dialogue with,” he explains. He adds that after four years of collaboration with the gallery, they’ve put together a book— published by Skira– compiling his work over the last 12–13 years, which will be available at the exhibition.

On view from September 6 to October 19, 2024, Between dogs and wolves showcases almost twenty large-scale works, painted over the last year. Lenoir feels his pieces capture transformative moments, like the edge between day and night, and his new work pushes his experimentation with intensive layering techniques even further. 

“I discovered painting when I was 18 years old,” Lenoir says. Frustrated with how his brush strokes reflected his human intentions, Lenoir decided to remove himself from the painting process so he could capture more of the essence of natural elements.  “I wanted to find the best way to represent nature– nature is not made by humans.” 

He invented a technique where an image is projected in a dark studio onto a canvas. Fascinated with memory, Lenoir uses black-and-white and sepia-toned photographs from his past. The image is traced alternatively with layers of masking tape and layers of paint. The paint dries under the tape, creating a kind of sedimentation linked to nature. Lenoir finds it very interesting that his painting process mimics a natural process, without directly following it. 

At the end, the final image of the painting is revealed, blending Lenoir’s memories with objectivity, creating something entirely new, yet hauntingly familiar. “I'm trying to find a new way for images and memory to appear and happen on the canvas.”

Because the technique is very time consuming, Lenoir decided to hire assistants. “I really enjoyed immersing other people in the process of my painting, because I could make the act of painting accessible to everyone.” Lenoir continues, “I could play with more objectivity that I might not be able to capture myself. This ‘lack of control’ is a blessing for an elusive image to appear.” 

Some may find Lenoir’s work controversial, because it is created with a team. However, artists ranging from Michelangelo to Andy Warhol have used assistants. “A lot of contemporary artists work with assistants, and each of them have their own systems,” Lenoir explains. “We can also think of the studios of the Renaissance... I think people are more willing to accept an established artist working with assistants. But, for me, working with people was part of my practice since the beginning.”

Lenoir methodically plans out the stages of a painting, writing extremely detailed notes– using arrows, graphs, and specific instructions– about each layer of a painting (which may have up to 100 layers). He calls his plans ‘protocols,’ considering them “a scientific way of thinking about how my image will appear.” He meticulously details layer after layer. 

“I am constantly involved by following the steps of the canvas; there is no creation in the application of this process. But, the creation is an edge between the idea I have of the painting and the application of it. It’s in a way, close to AI except it’s not artificial. And at the end I have the freedom to accept the painting like this or change it.” 

His protocols are a system that links the people involved, allowing the painting to be created through an almost mechanical gesture. Lenoir says he is an “alchemist working with curves, working with math, and working with how I think the painting can appear.” 

The conceptual work of the protocols helps create the image. There is an element of control, combined with the element of surprise, as the layers and materials interact and unexpected paint drips or other environmental changes— which he refers to as ‘hazards’— add to the revelation of the final image. Sometimes, Lenoir applies one final brushstroke to the back of the canvas, which interacts with all the layers, helping to bring everything into focus.