Noel de Lesseps (b. 1996) is a Brooklyn-based artist. He briefly attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, before shifting to a self-driven studio practice. Largely self-taught, he worked in drawings for many years, transitioning to painting in 2017. Seven is his first show with Nathalie Karg Gallery.
His visual practice is informed by the mysteries of the natural world, a fixation that began in adolescence. For Noel that time was divided between Switzerland and Long Island, NY, and filled with an exploration of the wild. Natural phenomena fuelled his questions about existence and reality, causing him to delve deeper into the exploration of metaphysics, alchemy, and mysticism.
Seven, the collection of works presented in the Nathalie Karg online viewing room, is a rumination on reality and the connection between the self and the unconscious mind. Ranging from the densely populated wood panels to the airy canvas of a nude, these works are connected by their dream-like quality. In them, the self shines through the unconscious mind, illuminating the depth of Noel’s personal mythos.
Noel de Lesseps practice is intuitive, meditative, and revealing. A neutral medium primes the surface in preparation for the carving of his world, line by line, all with a dry brush. At first glance the paintings appear joyous and even childlike: grinning cats, mischievous mice, tank-engines, and carnival crowds. Upon closer study, scenes of utter debauchery are revealed. Naked figures litter the works, disembodied limbs merge with foreign objects, and amidst this chaos are mentions of the artist’s name and appearance, his presence felt throughout each piece. The intricacy of these works pulls the viewer into a ceaseless exploration of the worlds captured within them.
Noel’s work has been featured in group exhibitions in NYC, The Hamptons, Switzerland, including those at, The Fireplace Project (Easthampton, NY), Harper’s Books (East Hampton, NY), Safe Gallery (Easthampton, NY), Galleria Javier Lopez & Fer Frances (Gstaad, Switzerland), The Watermill Center (Watermill, NY), The Southampton Art Center (Southampton, NY), SPRINGBREAK Art Fair (NYC), Eyes Never Sleep (NYC), and Gallery Petite (BK).
