CECILE FILIPE was born in Lisbon. She moved to Paris with her parents
in 1975 at the age of 9 following the end of the Salazar dictatorship in
Portugal. Disconnected from her home, her friends and from native
language, she found solace in drawing. Filipe studied interior
architecture at the Camondo School graduating in 1991 but continued to
develop her studio practice in parallel with a successful career in
architecture.
Filipe’s paintings are at once expressive and highly structured, often
contrasting deep blacks with bright primary reds, yellows and blues, that
expose the influence of her architectural background and a longing for the
Lisbon of her childhood. In much of her work broad gestural brush strokes
sit below more rigid linear marks which appear like a sculptor’s armature,
providing stability and tension for the plastic materials of modeling. This
duality of poetry and form underlying Filipe’s approach, creates a
constantly shifting focus between impression and definition, strength and
fragility.
Filipe considers painting a necessity and works intuitively using acrylic
paint, pure pigments, inks, watercolour and collage. “Painting allows me to
expel my emotions, it’s also a constant inner and aesthetic search for
light, depth and balance. I want to paint what can’t be seen : the
breath, the wind, the movement, the emotion, the rustle of the leaves,
rain, ice, seasons.”
Cecile Filipe’s work has been presented at art fairs throughout Europe,
including: Town Hall Of The 17th, Paris (2007); L’avant Rue Exhibition
Center, Paris (2007); Newell Rubbermaid Art Show, Boulogne Billancourt
(2008); Artside Art Factory, Strasbourg (2008); Parc
De Saint Cloud Auction House, Garches (2008); Bas’art Art Mecca,
Fréjus (2009); Rossini Auction House, Paris (2009); Affordable Art Fair La
Bellevilloise, Paris (2017); L’art Sous Les Paves Art Show, Paris (2017);
Mc Gallery Collection Hotel Molitor Art Show,
Boulogne Billancourt (2017); L’art Sous Les Paves Art Show, Paris
(2018); Rois Auction House, Fréjus (2018).
She has also been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions,
including: Debejarry Gallery, Paris (2007); A7 Gallery, Auvillar (2007);
Debejarry Gallery, Paris (2008); Art Generation Gallery, Paris (2008); Art
Generation Gallery, Paris (2009); Anne Anderruthy
Gallery, Paris (2010); Lefeuvre Gallery, Paris (2011); Chaon Gallery,
Granville (2017); Visionary Projects The Era Of Change, New York (2021)
VVA LondonVirginia Visual Art (2021); Noonpowell Fine Art London
(2021)
