Elisabeth Brainos has a very original life story. A mixture of cultures, a life story and a vision of the world which are at the heart of his work.
“ Art, love and friendship are three important things to me. With that, we already settle a lot of things. » On this day of low, gray skies, a silhouette just arrived from the south of France illuminates the Place du Châtelet, in Paris. Purple scarf on her head, eyes drawn with black kohl, Elisabeth Brainos does not go unnoticed as she radiates warmth, joy and kindness. She has something of her sculptures, the smile, the wondering and wondering eyes, a slender neck. A dreamlike side and “ bright » like his works. A reassuring presence.
Shaking hands is immediately put aside as the embrace seems obvious. Is this emanation of affection-attraction due to its Mediterranean side? Elisabeth Brainos is Greek on her mother’s side, but her father is of Russian-Ukrainian origin. And she was born in 1949 in Colombia. His parents joined the French Resistance during the war, then went to make their fortune in Latin America after the Allied victory. “ They returned to France after the war, with two children and a large bag of coffee! » Elisabeth, who was only a year old at the time, moved to Antibes, but, she confides, perhaps still with the memory in her soul of this love of colors which would never leave her. Because its primary inspiration is not South American, but above all Greek.
Love, the common thread
To contemplate his works is to think of Brancusi, Klimt, Chagall, with fine characters, the nose in the extension of the forehead, ” but my inspiration actually comes from Greek sculpture, including Cycladic idols (3,000 BC). It fascinates me “. From there, Elisabeth brings color through stones encrusted with bronze. “ It is the Mediterranean world that inspires me, not the Russian world; because I very quickly cut ties with my father, and therefore with his culture, she confides, not preferring to elaborate. But six years ago I was invited to Russia. I had turned my back on this Russian world. However, I felt at home, I loved the people. These extraordinary women who received me. I went back nine times. Now I reconcile these two worlds. » And the artist finally reconnects with part of her origins, especially since she has been living a “great love affair” with a Russian photographer for several years.
Love that can be seen as the common thread in the work of Elisabeth Brainos. “ All my creation, she explains in her enchanting voice, goes towards what should be, love, friendship, play, childhood. I am not someone who will convince through the expression of my art. What is happening in the news is omnipresent in everyone’s consciousness. But I don’t cover my wounds in my art, on the contrary, I want to show a joyful world. My creations are more and more focused on love. » Despite the joyful and laughing aura she possesses, the artist admits to being extremely pessimistic about today’s world. One of the reasons, perhaps unconsciously, why she did not have children. “ But I take care of myself, she likes to say, rolling her eyes to the sky, and I heal the world through my works which are the opposite of this feeling. Yes, I am very pessimistic. Man is so arrogant, he no longer has any notion of what humans are, or what animals are for that matter. My creations are therapy for those who no longer have faith in life, I believe. »
Heal and heal yourself through beauty
A therapy that is running at full speed, because Elisabeth Brainos is a workaholic and admits “ to worry » to the idea of going on vacation far from her studio in Vallauris (Alpes-Maritimes) in which she has been creating for almost six years. A workshop where faithful and novices meet, a magical place where works of all sizes pile up. “ It’s visceral. Without my art, there is nothing. Well, yes, there is love, but that is not enough! » The artist intends to capture visitors through emotion. “ I don’t do anything for the sake of selling, I create to repair, I feel like I’m helping people feel things they wouldn’t feel otherwise. And that’s good… This feeling of caring for people. For me, it’s therapy. » And Elisabeth Brainos wonders what she would become if she didn’t have that. “ If I don’t have that, I’m dying inside. If there were no visitors, I would continue, but it is still an essential element, sharing. And then I would have trouble storing! »
We feel when listening to her that the creator is not playing, she has nothing to defend except the sharing of “beautiful things”. And to vituperate: “ Stuff like Koons is a sin! We can’t accustom the human eye to that… From the moment what we want to do is money, it no longer works! »
Nothing seemed to destin Elisabeth Brainos to this outstanding artistic career. From a very young age, she was passionate about theater, but still undertook to do a master’s degree in literature in Aix-en-Provence to “ to reassure ” his mother. “ But I couldn’t stand the vanity of the actors. I stopped the death in the soul. I was extremely shy, except on stage. » Destiny decides otherwise. In kindergarten in Vallauris, she took part in the competition organized on the feast of Saint-Claude, the patron saint of potters. “ Pablo Picasso was there and he chose my Saint-Claude! But my mother was away, the lady who looked after me didn’t want to take me to the award ceremony and I didn’t climb on her lap! »
Not having studied Fine Arts will not prevent Elisabeth Brainos from painting, creating jewelry, using photography and digital arts before concentrating exclusively on sculpture. And the artist insists that, if she is here today, it is thanks to the circle of friends who trusted her. “ Everything magical attracts me. I don’t work upstream, I often start with minerals, then I build around my sculpture. I know from the start where I want to end up. I work with resin and wax, then the founder transforms it into bronze. From there, it is necessary to chisel, adjust the stones, patina… Bronze is a very heavy, very masculine, serious material, and it is the stone which gives it light, which lightens it, which makes it makes you happy. I go to the end of my fatigue when I work, that’s why my workshop is messy. »
Elisabeth Brainos is now preparing an exhibition which is to be held in Heraklion, Greece, her country of choice. “ Right now I’m in circles. » And to show one of his latest creations on his phone and to explain: “ These lovers are in a circle, outside the other world. I’m more into the soft side. » A term that suits him so well. Her art, imbued with gentleness, reflects her commitment to beauty, love and wonder. Elisabeth Brainos, an artist whose work radiates a light that heals and inspires the souls of those who contemplate it.
