The Punch Painting Artist: Meet Painter Cyrille Chamayou

“Life is short but wide”. This quote borrowed from author Jim Harrison summarizes in a few words the amazing trajectory of Cyrille Chamayou, a story of rupture, revelation and prevented destiny.

By Al Gord

Cyrille was born in 1970 in France where he grew up in a family of architects. As a teenager, he was interested in graphic arts and tried photography and photomontage. He also studied visual arts in Paris. But quickly, the constraints of reality forced him to put his creative desires aside. He then embarked on studies in communication that propelled him to leading positions within large technology companies. Among all the avenues open to him, he chose to work in the African market. The continent had fascinated him from an early age and the opportunity to work in Africa was too much to pass up.

Based first in Abidjan, he lived successively in Lagos and Dakar before moving to Johannesburg. Upon his arrival in South Africa he met painter and art teacher Ricky Burnett and enrolled immediately into his class which advocates the idea of a free and uninhibited painting, encouraging artist in finding elements that are unique to a particular creative and then hone that style to create works that are unique and representative of that artist alone.

Cyrille took the philosophy to heart. He starts his paintings with the mind-set of a boxer or mixed martial artist getting into a ring – where only physical urgency and commitment remain when entering a combat sport. As such he views his self-titled style as Punch Painting.

His references and influences are varied. While he leans towards more contemporary artists and styles such as the work of Frank Auerbach and Adrian Ghenie, Cyrille also appreciates the tortured classicism of Goya. He is known to produce some disturbing creatures or mutants that are represented in his paintings, souls with toothless jaws, ambiguous identities and underworld figures. He best describes the final product as a balance between “being torn and kissed in an insane dogfight – a synergistic collision of energy where Africa is present in its colours, depth and eruptive beauty.” Cyrille Chamayou’s entire gallery of energetic works can be viewed on his on Instagram.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.