Cyrille Conan was born in 1973 and grew up in Queens, N.Y., to French immigrants. He is first generation American and is bilingual. He has dual-citizenship and identifies both as French and American. This duality is apparent in his artwork. The graphic nature and grit of the work derives from growing up in NYC in the 70s and 80s and the love of nature and natural forms distilled in him from Celtic/Breton culture have transformed into a minimal, organic, geometrical abstraction.

Cyrille has been developing a vocabulary of various mark making, collage, and textures to allow for the paintings to generate as honestly and intuitively as possible. Each layer informs and dictates the final composition until he finds a visual balance of form, color, and repetition.

He considers his improvisational process to be a response to the intersection of two modern phenomena: the destruction of nature and the growth of technology. Having a regular studio practice keeps him connected to nature and is an act of defiance against our current condition.

Cyrille graduated with a BFA in Painting from the Hartford Art School before planting his roots in Boston in 1998. While his primary practice is still painting, he works in a variety of mediums and scales. He’s produced site-specific installations and murals in numerous states as well as local galleries and public spaces in Boston, including The Cyclorama, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Boston City Hall. He is currently working as a Preparator for the Design Department at the MFA, Boston.