Sacha Cambier de Montravel

Sacha Cambier de Montravel, who graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2023, deploys his pictorial universe around the question of violence and eroticism, urges and passions.

Bending the rules of primitive Italian and Flemish painting, he recreates his own garden of delights. In an urbanized landscape, a myriad of characters come to life in the glow of streetlamps. Some of them heave, some others relieve themselves, the artist using his work as an outlet to purge his fantasies and rebel against society facts.

The young Belgian artist plays with references, flirting with blasphemy by forcing the viewer into the position of voyeur. With a certain cynicism, the non-politically correct invites itself into the religious register, using with irony the supports and techniques favored for ancient altarpieces.

For the 2024 edition of Private Choice, Sacha Cambier de Montravel has created a series honoring the famous Villa Malaparte. Perched 32 meters above the sea on Capo Massullo, a rock on the island of Capri, the artist draws inspiration from the myths and legends that have shaped the aura of this residence. Founded by Curzio Malaparte, its Pompeian red box shape and clean lines make it an icon of modern architecture.

The artwork, with its Bruegel-like composition, titled Amour Vandale (Vandal Love), presents the Villa with blood-red walls. The young painter has inscribed an Italian poem by Pier Paolo Pasolini: “That is why, in the anguish of my faults, I have never achieved true remorse”. In the background, a medieval Northern city seems to appear in the mist, thus creating an intersection of eras and geographies.