Caziel

"In 1963 Caziel was living at Ponthevrard, a small village outside Paris with his wife Catherine and me Clementina, his daughter.

My father painting, talking, building and loving us is deeply imprinted in my memory.

At the time one or two people accused him of deserting the Paris Art Scene and indulging in the rural idyll. They may have believed that he would not produce the work which they wanted of him and that he would sink into anonymity.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Caziel was personally happy - possibly for the first time. He delighted in his new family and created for us a real home - maybe another first for him. In this setting, far from the Gods and Sycophants of Paris, Caziel began to grow. He grew in confidence and self-esteem. As a result, his mind became clear of influences.

So, like an alchemist in his laboratory, he sat down and started to search for a formula. In fact he often used to say that a great artist was like a great chef and that you had to have exactly the right ingredients and in the right quantities. He found these ingredients, lit a fire beneath them and like in a still, drip by drip, the essence fell onto the canvas and created something potent and unique.

In this work, you can clearly see that Caziel is now his own man. His teachers may have been Giotto, Cézanne and Picasso and to the end of his life he would never betray them, but now his individual stamp had been firmly pressed on each canvas.

Every now and again you can sense the process - little echoes from the past - but there is no hesitancy. Caziel was determined to follow his instincts and this show demonstrates a rare thing: an artist asserting himself and bowing to no living person.

This body of work heralds the transition that continued to evolve until the end of Caziel's life."


Clementina Stiegler