ANDRE PAUL CROTEAU
Sometimes the freshest vision can be born from a cross-pollination of the creative disciplines. After 25 years, designing men’s fashion, Andre Croteau has turned his seasoned instincts towards the fine arts. Croteau began his artistic renaissance patterning his singular “opulent friezes”… textile-infused, resin-based canvases that evoke a glossy, shiny sense of life, energy and well-being for those that experience them.
Initially looking for a contemporary sensibility, within which to capture his love for the brilliance of stained glass, Croteau coined an opulent and organic style that’s infused with an amalgam of color, shine, movement and depth.
More-recently, Croteau has turned his textile signature and his artistic attentions towards organic sculpture, which he views as his long-term creative path. Though both the friezes and the sculptures have their essence in textile, Croteau feels that the sculpture will allow for more sensorial options within which to express his thoughts and aesthetic direction.
The study of “color and light” has long held a fascination. Light, and the way it interacts with these colorful, abstract features is an integral part of every artistic dialogue. Beneath the surface, Croteau’s work captures a more-expressionist, as well as a more-tangible and worldly conversation. The genesis of every “visual exploration” is a conceptual destination that points the process in an aesthetic direction.
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That said, Croteau does not seek to predetermine the outcome of his work, but rather allows each piece to pragmatically evolve until it reaches its’ own peaceful conclusion… when it’s finally “at rest”. The artist has used this same approach, throughout his creative career, and sees it as a greater metaphor for the unscripted, worry-free way in which he, ultimately, aspires to lead his life. The ideas of imperfection, transformation and chance are central to his work.
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Croteau received his formal training at New York’s renowned Fashion Institute of Technology and remained in New York for the majority of his fashion career, creating for such luxury houses as Saks Fifth Avenue, Piero Dimitri Couture, Paul Stuart and Alexander Julian, before relocating to Metropolitan Miami. His frequent research travel, throughout Europe, Asia and South America has yielded a well-informed creative base upon which to draw.
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