Thierry Diers (1954 – Dunkirk) lives and works near Royan.
Art—neither navel-gazing nor conventional—comes from life, from its necessities and its fears.
td
I had to draw, paint, show… the unconscious guided the line. Then came life, experiences, time spent in solitude and observing the world.
From those years emerged research, drawings, and canvases stolen from everyday life. Rereading these works inscribed on paper is unsettling. Memories of states of being—joy, despair, anguish, the fear of understanding nothing. Feeling that everything slips away and dissipates, distant and unreachable. Memories of deep exhaustion drawn from tapping into the depths of oneself. Daring to lucidly reach the end of the stages of semi-consciousness is an experience that leaves its traces.
Today the boxes overflow; the works give back and bear witness to a trusting race through time and life.
As an artist, I live within society, take part, invent, defend, question, and bear witness. Curiosity has been the source of 45 years of writing, of a journey, of signs that can be followed like music accompanying the passage of time.
td
“In art, there is no effect without a deviation from truth.”
Georges Braque (Day and Night)
“Most painters need direct contact with objects in order to feel that they exist, and they can reproduce them only under their strictly physical conditions. They seek an external light in order to see clearly within themselves. Whereas the artist or the poet possesses an inner light that transforms objects into a new world—sensitive, organized, a living world—which is in itself the infallible sign of divinity, the reflection of divinity.”
Henri Matisse (Writings and Remarks on Art)
What is art ?
“Art is a prayer, a way of addressing the unknown.
Ettore Sottsass (Le Monde, 2006)
In a state of perpetual questioning, Thierry Diers listens, explores, and casts a fresh gaze upon things. From his sketches, superimposed layers, and impressions of drawing, a universe emerges. His painting is resolutely rooted in the lineage of Expressionism, in this necessity and quest to capture emotion—the constitutive subject of his work.
It is a moment of surrender on the part of the artist, who deliberately places himself at the service of painting, trusting yet aware of the need to lose oneself without being engulfed, to allow oneself to be overwhelmed by those accidents that alone can nourish creation.
Born in an in-between space, both cultural and geographical, shaped by French and Flemish Flanders—a land of movement—TD remains a painter of the North, dazzled by the blaze of the South. His painting is fundamentally driven by color and light. Whether in large formats or more condensed works, through harmony or deliberate dissonance, through iridescent chromatic ranges that fade or break apart, the chosen colors rise to the level of struggle.
Free from any rigid hypothesis, when the abstraction of all reference is no longer sufficient, a repertoire of symbols and forms emerges. They forge autonomous keys and open the doors to mystery.
From the abstract spaces of the early canvases to the current non-figuration, Thierry Diers invents a recognizable, specific mode of writing—a language. In its singularity, the painter’s universe then becomes the world of the viewer. This gaze tells us the story of the world.
Alain Daill
—
His adolescence was marked by constant movement between French Flanders and Flemish Flanders. In Dunkirk, at the end of the 1960s, he grew close to Arthur Van Hecke, who encouraged him in his path as a painter. A graduate of Saint-Luc in Tournai, Belgium (studios of Paul Roland, 1971–73, and Yvan Theys, 1974–78), his first exhibition took place in Lille in 1976, alongside Eugène Leroy and Eugène Dodeigne.
Thierry Diers settled in Paris in 1978, took part in major salons (Montrouge, Villeparisis, Réalités Nouvelles, Grands et Jeunes), met Dany Bloch and Jacques Guillot, and collaborated with his first Parisian galleries: Galerie Le Dessin (Claire Burrus, Marie-Hélène Montenay, Gérard Delsol), Galerie Jacob (Denise Renard), and Galerie Diane Manière.
From 1988 to 2004, while continuing his studio practice, he implemented the concept of the “artist-entrepreneur,” establishing a close relationship between the corporate world and contemporary creation. He worked for major companies in cutting-edge sectors (Automobiles Peugeot, PSA, BNP, Chase Manhattan Bank, Nestlé, Vinci, Mulliez, Radio France, Usinor, Eutelsat, Freyssinet International, etc.) and notably received the Grand Prix Stratégies du Design in 1992 for his project at the Geneva World Communication Forum, commissioned by France Télécom (a monumental steel structure weighing 80 tons, measuring 30 × 30 meters and 18 meters high). In 2003, his observations within the corporate world gave rise to his series of paintings and drawings “The Hollow Men.”
This period was followed by the necessity of returning to studio work (Belleville). From 1988 to 2010, he exhibited in Ireland and Mongolia and collaborated with Galerie Apicella in Cologne (Germany) and Galerie Vanram in Ghent (Belgium).
From 2010 to 2018, in order to defend his way of thinking and living beyond discourse and words, Thierry Diers brought together partners and created Galerie Duboys (Paris, 3rd arrondissement), where he served as artistic director. He curated over 40 exhibitions there, supported and discovered many French and international artists (“This Is Not That”, 10 Indian photographers, 2011; “Human Form”, named best gallery exhibition of 2012 by LunetteRouge.blog.leMonde.fr; Grand Prix de Montrouge 2015 and Prix Antoine Marin 2016 with Marion Bataillard; exhibition “Passion(s)” in the crypt of Notre-Dame de la Treille Cathedral, Lille, 2017; Prix Artagon 2016 and 2017 with Juliette Dominati).
From 2014 to 2018, Thierry Diers divided his activities and creations between Paris, Wuhan (China), and Hong Kong.
In June 2018, he left Paris (Belleville) and set up his studio in Saint-Augustin, Charente-Maritime.
COLLECTIONS
AUTOMOBILES PEUGEOT - Paris, Sochaux
BNP PARIBAS - Velizy, Strasbourg, Singapor (Singapor)
CARAT- Paris
CABLECOM - Paris
CROSS international - Gent (Belgium)
DAHER - Dunkerque
EVEREST - Nanterre
Fond National d’Art Contemporain - Paris, la Défense
FIRMENICH - Neuilly sur seine, Genève (Suisse)
FRANCE TELECOM - Paris
GALDERMA - Paris, la Défense
HERTA - Emmerainville, Saint Paul sur Ternoise, Hambourg (Germany)
INSCAPE - Tokyo (Japan)
KLEBER PALACE (Costes) - Paris
KPMG - Lille
MARTELL - Cognac
Bernard BOESCH MUSEUM - La Baule
NATIONAL GALLERY - Alaanbaataar (Mongolia)
PERNOD RICARD - Paris
ULB Museum (University) - Bruxelles (Belgium)
VIVENDI - Hong Kong (HK)
Private collection: South Africa, Germany, Belgium, China, Canada, USA, France, Holland, Israël, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Russia.
INTERVENTIONS
Design and creation of spaces for individuals - Ajaccio, Cannes, Paris, Saint Jean de Luz, Wuhan (Chine)
Creation of objects and furnitureVivendi - Paris
Freyssinet International - Vélizy
Eutelsat - Paris
Lancement du Coupé 406, pgt/Pininfarina - Paris
Flunch Italie - Turin, Rome, Milan
Photogram Stone Images - Paris
Espace Georges Bernanos - Paris
Automobiles Peugeot - Paris, Tokyo
France- Télécom - Genève
Amarine - Villeneuve d’Ascq, Fashes-Thumesnil, Lyon, Bordeaux, Vélizy...
Académie Carat - Paris (Gde Arche de La Défense)
«Usinor 25 ans» - Dunkerque, Lille, Paris
Radio-France - Paris
BNP - Luxembourg
EXHIBITIONS
2023
Maison de la Charente-Maritime, “Silent Clamors” – La Rochelle
Espace Franck Longelin, “A Figure of Emptiness” – Boulogne-sur-Mer
2021
Galerie Convergences – Valérie Grais – Paris
2019
Drawing Now Art Fair – solo show – Galerie Duboys – Paris
2018
Barnes – La Baule
Espace de Coutures St Gervais, “Passion(s)” – Paris
Galerie Duboys, “The Sound I Saw” – Paris
Power House, “Top 2” – Wuhan (China)
2017
Galerie Convergences – Valérie Grais – Paris
Catholic University of Lille, “The Hollow Men” – Lille
2016
Cité des Échanges, “The Hollow Men” – Marcq-en-Barœul
European Art Fair – Monaco
“Blue Affirmation”, Galerie Duboys – Paris
2015
“Wandering of a Script”, Bernard Boesch Museum – La Baule
“The Hollow Men”, Galerie Duboys – Paris
2014
Galerie Duboys – Paris
2012
“Draw(i)ng”, Galerie Duboys – Paris
2011
Galerie Duboys – Paris
2008
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
2007
“Business Attitudes” – CGT Headquarters – Montreuil
2006
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
2005
Private Art Collector – Cork (Ireland)
2004
“Portraits” – Art Affaires – Boulogne-Billancourt
“The Sound I Saw” – Le Monde à l’Envers – Marciac
“The Sound I Saw” – L’Oréal – Clichy
2003
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
“At the Edge” – Galerie Apicella – Cologne (Germany)
“The Ephemeral Galleries” – Label Friche – La Perrière
“Encounter” – Private Art Collector – Dublin (Ireland)
2002
Gallery Léonardis / Kriessler – Oberursel (Germany)
Deutsche Bank – Frankfurt (Germany)
Private Art Collector – Dublin (Ireland)
2001
Galerie Apicella – Cologne (Germany)
2000
Galerie Bruno Delarue – Paris
La Réserve d’AREA – Paris
Galerie de la Ferronnerie – Brigitte Négrier – Paris
2000 / 1978
Exhibitions and collaborations with Le Dessin Gallery (Claire Burrus, Marie-Hélène Montenay, Gérard Delsol), Jacob Gallery (Denise Renard), Philippe Boulakia Gallery, Diane Manière Gallery, Apicella Gallery (Cologne), and the BNP Collection at ENSBA Paris.
Salons and Art Fairs
In France:
Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui; Réalités Nouvelles; Salon de Montrouge (1994, 1987, 1983, 1981); Dessins sur Papier, Villeparisis (1986, 1987); Découvertes (1993); Art Jonction, Nice (1987).
Abroad:
Art Köln, Germany (1993); “Humor and Revolution”, Girona Museum, Spain (1989); Europa Prize, Ostend, Belgium (1978).
Co-founder of the associations “Matière à” (1986–1990) and “Art of Walking”, which in July 1992 organized and curated the first exhibition of Western art at the National Gallery of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and later at UNESCO, Paris (1993).
1978 / 1976
Exhibitions in Northern France and Belgium: Dunkirk Museum, Gravelines Museum, Septentrion Foundation (Bondues), Rihour Palace (Lille), Kappa Gallery (Lille), Dujardin Gallery (Roubaix), Galerie du Hautmont (Bondues).
Group Exhibitions
2021 – 2024
Convergences Gallery – Valérie Grais – Paris
Galerie Kahn – Ars-en-Ré
2020
Dominique Fiat Gallery – Paris
2019
“Territory and Architecture”, Dominique Fiat Gallery – Paris
2018
YIA Art Fair – Convergences Gallery – Valérie Grais – Paris
Beirut Art Fair – Dominique Fiat Gallery – Beirut (Lebanon)
Convergences Gallery – Valérie Grais – Paris
2017
YIA Art Fair – Duboys Gallery – Paris
Issy Biennale – Issy-les-Moulineaux
“Passion(s)”, Center of Sacred Art – Lille
2016
Duboys Gallery – Paris
2013
Duboys Gallery – Paris
Convergences Gallery – Paris
2010
Duboys Gallery – Paris
2006
Détour Gallery, “Double Jeu” – Namur (Belgium)
Pernod Ricard – Paris
2005
Private Art Collector – Cork (Ireland)
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
“Open Encounter”, Pernod Ricard – Paris
2004
Private Art Collector – Cork (Ireland)
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
2003
Label Friche, “The Ephemeral Galleries” – La Perrière
Private Art Collector – Dublin & Cork (Ireland)
VanRam Art Gallery – Ghent (Belgium)
2002
Léonardis / Kriessler Gallery – Oberursel (Germany)
2001
Apicella Gallery – Cologne (Germany)
La Réserve d’AREA – Paris
2000
University Collection, University Museum (ULB) – Brussels (Belgium)