Alain Séchas

Once described by the critic Jeff Rian as "a grandchild of Freud and Disney, child of modernism and Pop art, a first-generation TV baby, artistic cousin of Mike Kelley and Charles Ray, and one of France’s best artists," Alain Séchas is best known for cartoonish, Pop-inspired paintings and sculptures, often depicting animals—particularly cats—in bizarre, uncanny scenarios. More recently, Séchas has turned to abstraction, creating bright, dramatic canvases that reflect an interest in formal exploration. However, despite their apparent stylistic departure from his earlier work, the artist sees a sense of continuity: “Just as I took possession of the lithe, mute-faced cat-men and of flirtatious Martian women, whose spiraling movements I arrested in a comical or moving way, I am taking possession of vertical canvas stretchers, oil paints, brushes, and strokes.”

Séchas's work has been exhibited in solo shows at institutions including the Musée des Beaux-Artes de Nantes, the Palais de Tokyo, and the Kunstmuseum Bonn, and in group exhibitions at venues such as the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain in Geneva, the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Centre Georges Pompidou, Les Abattoirs in Tolouse, and the JEwish Museum in New York, among others.