For this series of paintings, I drew inspiration from the discipline of bonsai: an evocation of a miniature landscape through pruning and wiring. Just as a tree is allowed to grow before its form is shaped, I build my canvases through the accumulation of successive layers, creating a sedimentation close to that of rock. This thickness forms the base, an invisible foundation yet essential to the image’s stability.
The subject is not imposed from the beginning; it emerges from a process of subtraction. By erasing and covering, I carve into the chromatic mass to retain only the essential. I seek to recreate this sensation of tamed nature. The painted frames and contour lines then act as ligatures: they discipline the material and prevent the color from evaporating. In this tension between fullness and emptiness, the work becomes a miniature landscape where the passage of time is finally condensed.
Pierre Bellot 2026