Influenced by the nature surrounding him, Stricher's work focuses on abstract explorations of color. His studio is located in an old mill in the French Vexin, a landscape which influenced numerous artists including Monet, Bonnard, Cézanne, Pissarro, and lately has inspired a move of Joan Mitchell's personal studio to the region. Conscious of the land surrounding his workspace, Stricher describes le Vexin as “offering a unique quality of light and diversity of landscapes.” 

 

“I have always been interested in abstract painting. When I started painting again in 2003 I embarked on this path and I pushed my research in this direction. I was subsequently attracted by the school of Cobra painters: Appel, Lindström, Jorn, etc...and I embarked on this path in the 2010s. This work then made me discover the power pure color and material.”

-Gérard Stricher

 

After the move in the 2010s to focus on color, his artistic process began to lean much more into the instinctual and subconscious. The colors erupting from the tube sparked more spontaneity within his work and dared him to study different combinators and juxtapositions of different colors and hues. Though many would delegate his work to abstraction, Gérard Stricher himself believes there is no such thing. Each painting created is a work of a living being who is present in nature; the work progressed onto the canvas is thus influenced by the artist's own unconscious impulses. 

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“My gestures in the act of painting do not follow the inputs of the brain, often my hand makes gestures that rationality does not command, it is the great mystery, the journey into the unknown…”

-Gérard Stricher

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While his use of color is very instinctual and spontaneous, his painting process follows a simple routine. Working on a few paintings at one time, Stricher dedicates multiple work sessions to one painting, with breaks between sessions ranging from overnight to weeks later. Taking a step away allows him to come back with fresh creative eyes ready to shift or change as needed. 

 

Born in 1948 and raised within a family of artists in Sarrebourg, France, Gérard Stricher has always been interested in abstraction. He is a self-taught artist and in his youth was very involved with the art and gallery scene, even selling a few of his pieces. However, before picking up painting again in 2003, he had a successful career as an international manager. Though he had a long break from painting, Stricher is adamant that his career and its world travel opportunities have shaped his art uniquely. Allowing him to view many different cultures and artistic trends beyond that he was raised with, widened his scope of style.