Vietnamese saying    

Olivier Messas, the artist who raises the mainsail of freedom

​

This freedom is to live fully, without concessions, and to the end of our dreams! Olivier Messas welcomes you in his huge workshop on the German border, with his disarming naturalness and a generous spontaneity, full of freshness.

He is a cosmopolitan artist and a great traveler, who is guided by his love for Nature and the human being. And constantly searching for ways to harmony, translating them into paintings with subtle plays of color, and into lively pieces of sculptures full of delicacy. For him, everything is a matter of heart, movement and openness of mind, to deploy a sincere and inspiring creation. This artist with a sublimated pathway to integration, is also a man of connection and diversity, and he dedicates his work to all those who need to find in their turn their freedom to be in this world.

​

His integration in France...

I came to France at the age of two, and I grew up in Marseille, then in Lyon."Born in Vietnam, Olivier Messas is the eldest of six children, with an French "Pied-noir" grandfather and a grandmother from the Vosges. The towers of the suburbs will become his favorite playground. "I used to run there with unconcern among groups of young dealers, happy to share this place of life together. These working-class neighborhoods will become the lands of welcome for me." His father was an industrial painter, and he was very proud of him, although he did not really know the difference with the profession of artist. Olivier was a sensitive little boy, and soon he found his joy in take care of his brothers and sisters. "I would bake pizza dough on Sunday mornings, snack it on weekdays, and assist my mother in her household chores. She worked so hard at sewing, in addition to raising her children!" From the age of 3, he began painting for hours, especially on the girls' notebooks "Dessinez la mode". He drew very detailed sketches of silhouettes in fashion clothes. "But I was shy and different, with something deeply embarrassing for those around me, as / expressed my tastes and my attachment style." And very soon in his life, he will understand that the social environment in which he was growing up will never allow him to find his place.

​

The search to find himself...

Get adapted. In school, where he was permanently out of sync. "I seemed to be paying attention, but my mind was elsewhere, absorbed in my daydreams." Apparently yielding to the pressure of his entourage, he obtained an accounting degree. "It helped be build a tidy and organized mind that l use a lot in my art today."But at 18, the young man will leave everything, looking for a way to find himself and achieve his own freedom. His mother was his model, she who created her sewing company all by herself, even winning contracts for high-end ready-to-wear brands. His father agreed to his plan, but the bank refused to finance the very expensive studies. "I would be eternally grateful for this miracle that happened in my life!" A friend will offer to pay his tuition in a prestigious fashion school. He can finally turn to a creative profession, and he would be one of the best students, working assiduously and with great rigor.

"I worked in the world of Fashionfor ten years, first as an assistant to the Collection Director of a large family brand. We did everything together: collections, shootings with renowned photographers and top models, fashion shows... But I always kept my head on my shoulders, enjoying to meet both the people that work in the shadows with a crucial role, and the actors of beauty and appearance." Above all, Olivier would finally find the freedom to be himself and decide that it would forever be his compass of life. "The shooting in Paris had been over for four days, but I had lost track of time, and I stayed there. I liked to live this way: so free of everything, letting life train me where I was simply comfortable and happy." A meteoric rise as a founder-stylist of the brand "Be the Queen" will follow for him, and it will be marketed throughout the world.

​

Creative Freedom...

"And yet, I thirst for freedom! So, one morning, I left everything to come and live in Karlsruhe, and find a balance of life there." Olivier Messas will take back his brushes to paint, "for sheer pleasure, because this has always been my favorite pastime". He is now independent and would manage to sell his first paintings, completing his earnings with courses at the workshop. "This allowed me to get integrated, learn German and make friends." Then he will find the means to indulge in his art, exploring new worlds, with an expression and techniques that he would constantly test at home, and exhibiting in art salons.

"The sculpture came after, in 2014, by doing an internship with an artist from the neighborhood." An itinerary that made him become today, a great creator of sublime collections of canvases and sculptures, that are sold all over the world. With a style well to himself, in shapes, color dishes, varnishes and mats; and recurring themes like freedom, joie de vivre and femininity. "I always like to paint these vigorous sailing boats, suspended between sky and sea, remembering my marine escapades, in Mistral's time with a stormy sea, or by sailing the days of calm waves." Then abstract landscapes, flowers, movement and energy that celebrate life and love, with joy and lightness. His sculptures also evoke grace, sensitivity, escape, family, childhood; themes which are dear to him, and that he renews in collections that each time unique, choosing for example a different founder each time. "I also have series that are related to matter, and especially texture, where I like to explore, work with new materials and make new, unlikely associations..." An endless journey towards harmony, where everything, the perception of the moment, the expression of a feeling, a vision, are translated by a gesture on the canvas.

​

Projects full of values...

"I often paint with music, in front of the window of my studio. It is a moment of reflection, of deep meditation, renewed every time, and which has been going on for ten years now." No longer a technical search, since his hand now perfectly masters gestures, but an inner quest that he expresses in beauty and positivity. The artist would focus his attention on an important moment of his experience: "it may be a moment of eternity that one experiences with friends, or even seeing an old lady crossing the street.."then he will make one with the stage and the protagonists, until he feels their feelings. A fusion that leads him to exteriorize with colors and shapes, all the intensity of emotions in the magical instant. "It's a search for pleasure, it's answering questions and finding answers. An endless journey where I venture to the rhythm of creation!"

In these projects, a world tour is coming, and through this journey, a new collection with a painting that will be achieved before departure, and the same after. "I want to create with that feeling, that openness of mind and heart between those two moments, to let that energy inhabit you." Then this summer, an exhibition on the theme of the three paths, with three multicultural artists and common works, and it will also travel to Berlin for the exhibition Positions. "I would like to exhibit in New York next year, and why not one day in China!" And new sculptures, whose sketches he already has in mind; then infographics on travel photos where he will integrate collages, painted pieces of wood, in order to find effects, make painting-sculpture in 3D...

It is therefore a work and a sublimated journey for this passionate self-taught artist, who navigates life with freedom in his sails. Set a course for happiness by becoming who we are, and share this journey in a spiritual work, where the artist becomes the messenger who captures the positive energies and shows us the way to the wonderful. Olivier Messas is all that. Not to mention the human values that he embodies with unconditional generosity and a sense of sharing: remain humble, with the love for social diversity; then encourage artists by buying their works. And one day create a foundation, to help all those, children and women in particular, who need a helping hand to find their way and wins the sacred freedom that underpins all existence.

Interview held by Carine Mouradian on 10th August 2022