Philippe Seguin, Santa Cristina Fragment, 2007, Earth on Canvas

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With his hands in the soil and his nose in the air, capturing the energy of centuries and trees—that is … Read more With his hands in the soil and his nose in the air, capturing the energy of centuries and trees—that is the earth-loving artist.

philippe seguin was born in burgundy and studied agronomy and soil science, raised his children, collected soil, mapped soils, painted canvases, worked to protect water and associated ecosystems, exhibited his paintings in some sixty shows, conducted expert assessments and studies, taught courses and lectures, lived in southeastern france, brittany, anjou, and the sahara, worked in some twenty countries across four continents, published a few articles, laughed a lot, cried a lot too, and so on.

so he worked the earth on canvases, like a farmer with his crops.

with his hands in the soil and his nose in the air, capturing the energy of centuries and trees—that is the earth-loving artist.

technique:

the canvases are created using clay, silt, sand, ash, and burnt wood. All the materials used are gathered from the french countryside; then the samples are prepared for use on canvas.
the motifs are inspired by the remains of mural paintings that once abundantly adorned castles, manor houses, chapels, and churches in france between the 11th and 15th centuries.
this approach aims to restore the importance of floors, to revisit mural art using a very ancient medium, to draw inspiration from the middle ages, and to create a contemporary work.
this project seeks to reconcile personal belief with collective energy, earth with emotion, permanence with impermanence; to look beyond the romanesque period and deeper than symbolism; to question lineages and transmissions.
the paintings, although inspired by different places and eras, share a common identity. These motifs and colors emerge from western roots. For some visitors, they will resonate far beyond the borders of france. The goal is not to love, but at least to understand the other, whether they come from the middle ages or elsewhere, from mars or the house next door.

exhibitions
main solo exhibitions:

2021, 2023, 2025 – galerie les dominicains, nice
2020 – association ama*, salon-de-provence (bouches-du-rhône)
2012 – art & terre du santerre, davenescourt (somme)
2010 – galerie municipale de lanrodec (côtes d’armor)
2008 – chapelle bonne nouvelle, melgven (finistère) in partnership with l’atelier d’etienne, contemporary art space in pont-scorff
2007 – médiathèque le cap, plérin (côtes d’armor)
1997 – galerie l’aquarelle, grez-neuville (maine-et-loire)
1995 – jacques prévert center, montreuil-juigné (maine-et-loire)
1993 – ama* association, marseille

* the aix-based association a.m.a. Its aim was to raise awareness of contemporary art through exhibitions in public spaces featuring important local artists (garouste, jourdan, melot, rocherieux, tibouchi, valverde, yassef, etc.).

main group exhibitions:

2026 – espace miramar, cannes (alpes-maritimes)
2025 – espace mondrian, cannes (alpes-maritimes)
2025 – new art festival, lourmarin (vaucluse)
2024 – galerie louiseart, la ciotat (bouches-du-rhône)
2012 – grand marché d’art contemporain (gmac), paris
2011 – terre art’air, plérin (côtes-d’armor)
2009 – 4th armorican biennial of contemporary living art (côtes-d’armor)
2009 – paysages habités, musée de saint-brieuc (côtes-d’armor)
2009 – musée de la brickworks, langueux (côtes d’armor)
2008 – museum of warmia and masuria, olsztyn (poland)
2007 – art currents at the château de la roche-jagu, ploëzal (côtes d’armor)
2005 – 2nd armorican biennial of contemporary living art (côtes d’armor)
1991, 1992 – galerie parallèle, aix-en-provence

exhibitions
galerie divet, rennes

collections
public (côtes d’armor departmental council), private (france, canada, united states, great britain, netherlands)

publications
alexander belokurov, chloé déchelette, matthew griffiths, guy halpern, philippe seguin, alexander zinke, 2024: a shared water culture between the european union and the countries of the eastern neighbourhood water international
water availability, surface water quality and water use in the eastern partnership countries, european environment agency, 2020 (contributing author)
towards water security in belarus: a synthesis report, oecd studies on water, oecd publishing, paris, 2020 (contributing author)
philippe seguin: scratching the earth and harvesting drawings, 2010 – report by christian saquet, tv-trégor
philippe seguin, 2009: understanding and reducing green tides in brittany – polypode no. 14, summer-autumn 2009
the gaze of others, exhibition catalog, 2009 – 4th armorican biennial of contemporary living art (contribution)
in situ, lived spaces, intersecting perspectives, exhibition catalog, 2008 – côtes d’armor departmental council, warmia and masuria museum, olsztyn (contribution)
currents of art at the castle, catalog exhibition catalog, 2007 – domaine départemental de la roche jagu (contribution)
the gaze of others, exhibition catalog, 2005 – 2nd armorican biennial of contemporary living art (contribution)
philippe seguin, 2002: road insecurity – les inrockuptibles no. 370, december 2002
françois dubois de la sablonière, philippe bolo, philippe seguin, 1999: contribution of a geographic information system for zoning pollution risks from phytosanitary products – ingénieries – eat no. 18, june 1999
francis barciet, philippe seguin, 1998: mapping to prevent groundwater contamination – poster presented at the symposium “agriculture and environment”, french hydrotechnical society, paris, november 18-19, 1998
francis barciet, christian guyot, philippe seguin, 194: mapping of vineyard soils in champagne for recommendations on the use of aldicarb – phytoma plant protection no. 465, october 1994 this piece has an attribution mark,
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