Hervé Constant: Le Voyant: Paintings by Hervé Constant exploring poetry, symbolism, and transformation

Hervé Constant: Le Voyant

Paintings by Hervé Constant exploring poetry, symbolism, and transformation

3rd February 2025 - 9th May 2025

Private View 30th January 2025 (RSVP)

2 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7BX

Felstead Art is pleased to present Le Voyant, a collection of 10 paintings by Hervé Constant, exploring poetry, symbolism, and transformation. Echoing Rimbaud’s notion of the voyant, in which the poet must undergo a profound transformation to perceive deeper truths, Hervé’s paintings showcase a reflection of this cryptic curiosity.

Arthur Rimbaud outlines a vision of the poet as a prophetic figure who pushes beyond conventional perceptions to access new dimensions of experience. A ‘seer’ that attains insight through a deliberate process of self-transformation. The voyant must embrace the unknown, exploring the extremes of human experience, breaking with societal norms and intellectual conventions. Metaphor and symbolism become critically important.

Rimbaud’s philosophy marked a rebellious shift from Romanticism to Modernism, challenging poets, writers, and artists to push beyond conventional perceptions. This spirit of transformation deeply influences Hervé’s artistic practice. His dreamlike compositions combine fragmented memories and abstracted philosophies, drawing on cultural and literary influences such as Baudelaire and Rimbaud.

At first glance, Hervé’s subjects appear eclectic, but deeper narratives quickly emerge, revealing his command of metaphor and symbolism. Through his use of diverse mediums and what Rimbaud called the “dérèglement de tous les sens” (derangement of all the senses), Hervé seeks to break free from intellectual conventions of perception.

Hervé’s artistic identity is deeply rooted in his own personal history of travel and cultural exploration. A pursuit of his own diverse influences across different mediums and presenting them without ego. His work is celebrated for its honesty and authenticity, with each painting evoking the emotional intensity and symbolic language that defines his multifaceted artistic practice.