She’s so Picasso.
Originally appeared in The Gallery Issue, April 2001.
Lopsided eyes; long, triangular noses; gashed mouths; dislocated facial features. Pablo Picasso wasn’t famed for his ‘beautiful’ pictures of women, but the resonance of his images conveyed an emotion and beauty far beyond the surface ideal. Stripping make-up to its original, decorative form, artists like Inge Grognard realise the value of a more painterly approach to the face, expressing an energy far beyond that which any correctly placed blusher ever could. “I don’t like the glamorous look,” says Grognard. “For me, skin and the face are very important, and I don’t want to put make-up all over, so you can’t see it.” Just as Picasso blew apart long held ideals about the presentation of women in art, and therefore the notions of what is considered to be beautiful, Grognard rejects the belief that make-up should only be exploited to enhance or embellish the face; using pigment as an expressive outburst, an energetic reflex of raw emotion that binds with fashion’s current punk/mod mood.
Text: Liz Hancock
Photography: Michel Momy
Make-up: Inge Grognard
