Rugby: the Stade Français at the heart of the Art (s) & essays exhibition at the Jean-Bouin stadium

The ease and the clichés would like us to oppose the delicacy of art to the brutality of rugby.

But, on closer inspection, these two have a lot in common.

The best placed to talk about it is undoubtedly Rémy Grosso, former winger for Castres Olympique and Clermont, five selections in the French team, and of which a handful of paintings are exhibited at the Jean-Bouin stadium on the occasion of this exhibition.

“Of course, rugby is a sport of confrontation, of combat, a priori very far from painting, explains the player.

But, in both, we find artistic gestures, the finesse of a beautiful pass, for example.

I have the feeling of having rubbed shoulders on the lawns with players who were real artists ”.

Rémy Grosso in front of the paintings by Reyol Enjoy exhibited at Jean-Bouin.

French stadium

At 32, Rémy Grosso draws whenever he can, including during courses he is currently taking to become a coach.

"Often, if I have a pen in my hands, I scribble on a piece of paper at the same time."

This autodidact, who can paint for up to six or seven hours a day, is often inspired by the stories of the people he will draw: “I have just finished a picture for a friend who asked me to paint a portrait of his grandmother.

She sent me three pages of text.

I really immersed myself in his life.

This is what motivates me.

The same goes for the acrylic portrait of Christophe Dominici which is exhibited here.

I have been interested for a long time in his personal journey and his sporting career.

I have always admired this player.

I loved him, I loved watching him play when I was little.

"

"Convey what I felt as an emotion when I went to the stadium"

The face of "Domi" suddenly disappeared a year ago, his exploits in the Stade Français jersey often come back, depending on the exhibition. On the canvases we also find snapshots of matches: touches, tackles, scrums, worn crampons… All of this often tinged with pink.

A color and a material that Violaine Abbatucci, watercolorist living in the Var, had to learn to tame. “It was a challenge for me. I am not at all from the rugby world. Usually I paint more of the interiors of bistros, cafes, urban areas, cities ... There I did not want to simply look at photos or videos on the Internet for inspiration, I went to see rugby matches for soak up the atmosphere, I got interested in objects. I wanted to convey what I felt as an emotion when I went to the stadium. Afterwards, for me, the difficulty was to go pink! I never paint in pink, I had no tubes. I went to buy lots of them. At first it made me feel weird, but in the end it's not bad…

"

This exhibition, in gestation for two years, many times postponed due to health restrictions linked to Covid-19, will remain in place until the end of the season. The works exhibited are all for sale there, a way of supporting the artists after the delicate period they went through between coronavirus and confinement, where places of cultivation were closed, exhibitions and openings impossible to organize. 10% of sales will be donated to the Ruban Rose association, which raises awareness of breast cancer screening and supports research in this area.

Art Exhibition (s) & Essays