Connections 2 (2005)

About the Artist:
Jean-Michel Terencio-Arrouet’s pictorial evolution shows an ongoing desire to challenge reality in order to express its essence. He is attracted by nature as it offers a harmonious combination of beauty, simplicity, and purity, which are the bases of his work.

Terencio-Arrouet has limited mobility due to a neurological disability that surfaced at the age of 20. During frequent stays at rehabilitation centers, he found the desire to share his passion and artistic techniques, and for the past 15 years, he has presented workshops to introduce people with disabilities to creativity through fine art.

Terencio-Arrouet is a graduate of the Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. His expressive monotypes have been shown at exhibitions throughout France and featured in the annual “Artists at the Bastille” exhibition since 1989. Most recently, he was chosen as an international fellow in visual Arts at the VSA Arts Conference in 2004.

Artist's Statement:
Simplicity, restraint, and purity are the bases of my work and I like to play with these elements.

My origins are in South Brittany; there you find landscapes with salt marshes and still-water ponds and plant life is abundant. There I find the source of my creativity. The workings of my imagination are constantly on the alert because I often make discoveries while actually working on my creations.

Landscapes from another world emerge leaving room for different interpretations but the organic matter of the elements of life always intervene.

When I have an exhibition my greatest pleasure is in hearing people’s interpretations of my work. In doing this they must use their imagination and that is what I aim to develop.