Painting is a complex territory which carries with it a powerful historical legacy, but which must constantly redefine itself in the present. The studio aims to reflect this complexity, this practice which must periodically set out the conditions of its appearance. In it, the artist-in-training is led to investigate the notions of surface, flatness, object, perception, colour field and gestuality, but also the notions of concept, imagery and process. They thus position themselves in relation to their singular research focuses, guided by the aesthetic, formal and political issues of pictoriality.
The Painting studio is a laboratory which interrogates the pictorial medium in all of its forms. The students are encouraged to fulfil themselves as artists, to discover autonomy in their personal work. They are very quickly considered not as learners subjected to exercises, but as creators offering their own specific view of the world. They are given the opportunity to experiment with techniques, materials and various media, but also with modes of expression such as photography, video, installation, writing, etc. in order to produce an effective and singular stereoscopic image.

The teaching staff, composed of a diverse range of artists, responds in personal, informal discussions, or in presentations of work attended by the entire department. These contrasting confrontations -- sometimes paradoxically -- offer students an enlightening perspective, sometimes causing them to doubt themselves, pushing them to choose a direction, a colour, an answer which will make their work even more personal, more radical. They are constantly referred to historical and current events in artistic practice, helping them situate themselves in their own critical and personal art histories.

The first two years of study are particularly open to experimentation and a transversal approach to media. In the Bachelor degree year, students focus on intensifying their personal projects, developing a critical eye in the work process.

The second cycle (Master) focuses on an individual project based on two principles: the contract link between the student and his or her teachers, as well as confrontation and exchange, for experimental and appropriative purposes. Students, who have retained the knowledge acquired in previous years, choose the direction for their work, communicating their intentions through their plastic language. The goal in the Master’s program is the full autonomy of its students as they transition to professional life. Their work is finished, set and staged in space in exhibition conditions for the graduate jury, with full awareness of the process and content involved.

The teaching staff at La Cambre, as well as guests from the outside, strives to create high level professional conditions and to develop students’ research aptitudes in the Painting field.

Students study:

• the relationship of art to its practices, techniques and technologies;
• the theoretical dimension of art and its multiple relationships to knowledge;
• the implementation of a project and the logistical aspects of research;

• plastic, formal and technical experimentation in pictorial processes;
• the ontology of the art work, its critical dimension, its conditions for existence and implementation;
• the stakes involved in art and function, the status of the artist-creator and his or her place in our contemporary societies

In the second cycle students begin to establish their sources, their territories, their commitments, collecting real-time data, consolidating the necessary technical and conceptual bases to develop their personal artistic projects in the many contexts in contemporary creation. These axes are explored constantly throughout a research process maintained through their classwork and interactions with outside partners. Their graduating dossier is accompanied by dedicated mentors; students produce artist’s editions and a written, reflective dissertation describing in detail the issues in their work.

Pedagogical coordination

Olivier Drouot, bachelier Xavier Noiret-Thomé, master

Professors
Bénédicte Henderick, Benoît Dusart

Assistants Emeline Depas, François Jacob

Lecturers
Vincent Geyskens, Charlotte Beaudry, Julien Meert, Carole Vanderlinden