In the studio: Cécile Lempert

Step inside the Düsseldorf studio and mind of Cécile Lempert. Learn more about the process behind her work, whether she prefers starting or finishing a painting and which artist is on her mind right now.

SSM: Has figurative painting always been an obvious choice for you?

CL: Yes, but that does not mean that you always recognize something concrete or real in it. For me, figurative painting is always a search for abstraction too.

SSM: If you had to name one subject that connects your work. what would it be?

CL: Fragile closeness.

SSM: Perspective or composition?

CL: Composition within the painting, but perspective during the image finding process.

SSM: How do your compositions come to life? Do you work straight onto the canvas or define it before?

CL: I build models out of clay or in a virtual program. This way I can try out different angles and sections. Then I make drawings of the picture to get a feeling for the simplification or the colour mood. But the drawings don't define the final painting.

SSM: Is there a colour you love most right now?

CL: I love grey tones, especially the natural colour of stone chalk. I also like translucent tones, orange or violet, which are very thin and glazing, such as light.

Cécile Lempert
Orange room, 2022
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SSM: Starting or finishing a painting?

CL: Both feels good. Starting a painting is more playful because I can react spontaneously. In return, you have a satisfying feeling at the end because you have precisely and accurately scanned every part of the painting.