Myriam Meuwly / Le Temps, Geneva - Switzerland

2000 août 28  [English]

What troubles us about these rigorously constructed paintings of architectural masses or about the exact reproduction of ornamental detail of a baroque facade ? In the large volumes of sand-, ochre- or grey-toned stones, or in the pale skies and subtle light, or even in the half-opened shutter ? The mystery of blind windows that echo here and there the reflections of an intimated elsewhere [...] leads the viewer to an austere meeting of the place suggested by the artist. The eye wanders over the space conceived like the setting of a life about to be suspended or transported elsewhere. In spite of the solitude evoked, the universe that Monteleone shows us is not a chilling one. Though it may appear anguishing, the world depicted here is rather melancholic, like the look that one might cast on the harmony of a familiar place, foreseeing the day when he will no longer be there.

Myriam Meuwly