Machikole Painting

Machinoid, one of Charles Leblanc’s last series of paintings, undoubtedly constitutes the artist’s most personal and stimulating work to date. Further exploring his long-standing fascination with cars and their internal mechanics – a subject he has previously ventured into with the Artomobilia series, the latest works signal a new direction, discovering new senses and new connections between his passion for engineering and human creativity. The result is a refreshing take on traditional abstract compositions, characterized by a dynamic colour palette combined with a certain degree of minimalism. This series reveals the intimate and co-dependent relationship between men and machines (of all kinds, dishwashers, lawn mowers, bicycles, etc.), who continually support and nourish each other. Inspired by these mechanical parts, often invisible and innocuous inside machines, Leblanc with “Machoda”, for example, adds to this creature/part an organic shell demonstrating the energy of the human creation and labour. Then, in “Machoro,” this relationship is taken even further, fully capturing the struggle for survival and, by extension, the resilience of human nature. The dynamic tension summarized by this painting, and this series as a whole, illustrates a glorious journey traveled by the artist. By contemplating Leblanc’s paintings up close, sometimes even touching the physical textures of the brushstrokes, viewers also feel part of this emotional journey. By experimenting with different art forms and subjects, Leblanc constantly questions and reinvents himself to create more daring compositions, while seeking to convey a universal truth: act despite fear.