Ortaire de Coupigny : Artist Profile.
Over his career, Ortaire de Coupigny has gained international recognition, exhibiting in galleries across Europe—including the Netherlands, England, Spain, and Switzerland—and more recently in Germany and Australia. A major milestone was his inclusion in the prestigious Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2008. His works are featured annually at prominent art fairs worldwide, including those in Brussels, Stockholm, Hamburg, Hong Kong, New York, and Miami, further solidifying his reputation as a global artist. An installation of his works can be seen in spaces such as the Delta Sky Club Lounge at Boston Logan Airport in the United States.
Ortaire de Coupigny has cultivated a distinctive practice that bridges the boundaries of painting and sculpture. Trained at the Fine Art Schools of Normandy from 1991 to 1995 and later at the Ateliers d’Art de la Ville de Paris, Ortaire honed his skills in diverse mediums, including stained glass. This early training deeply influenced his artistic approach, with transparency emerging as a central theme throughout his career.​​
In his Iconic sardine-can series, transparency is both literal and metaphorical. The epoxy encasing his vibrant fish references the delicate interplay of light and depth reminiscent of stained glass. The sardine cans are transformed into intricate frames for the artist’s exploration of form, colour, and texture. The vibrant, hyperreal fish appear suspended in time, creating a striking juxtaposition between the ephemeral beauty of nature and the permanence of the medium.
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​By situating his sardine-can series within the broader context of art history, Coupigny’s work engages with elements of assemblage, Pop Art, postmodern surrealism, and contemporary collectible design. His sardine cans collapse the boundaries between sculpture, painting, and engraving, transforming everyday materials into objects of contemplation. Each piece balances industrial precision with artistic intervention, creating sculptural objects that also function as pictorial spaces, where transparency and materiality play a central role.​
In the video next to (with English subtitles), Ortaire de Coupigny explains his unique technique that combines elements of sculpture, painting, and engraving. His technique, developed over the years, was initially influenced by his early training in stained glass, with transparency being one of the central themes in his artistic work.
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​This focus on transparency is also a prominent theme in his work with sardine cans and his engravings. Another evident theme is the representation of animals, and his humour often conceals a reflection on how to portray the place of animals in our modern society.
