The Bold Gesture and Colour of Régine Gardan
Some canvases whisper, others glow from the very first glance. The thirty works gathered in this collection belong to the second family. From the more than two hundred paintings left by Régine Gardan, we have chosen her boldest, most graphic compositions: those where the gesture leaps freely, where contrasts sing out, where colour still seems to be in motion. A vibrant red sweeps across the canvas, a deep blue answers it, a sunny yellow lights up the whole. Every piece of contemporary abstract art presented here was hand-painted in oil on cotton canvas, and each work is unique.
Come closer and the texture reveals itself: thick layers of paint, ridges left by the brush, pigments that catch the light differently as the day goes by. These canvases live with the light of your room. In the morning they wake gently; in the evening, under warm lighting, their colours take on new depth. This vitality is what Régine Gardan, a French painter born in 1964 who passed away in 2018, poured into each of her compositions. Her work won awards in several painting salons in Isère, and her son now keeps her legacy alive through this online gallery. To learn more about her journey, discover the artist.
Contemporary and Modern Abstract Art: Two Words for One Vitality
We are often asked: what is the difference between contemporary abstract art and modern abstract art? The answer fits in a few words. For art historians, "modern" refers to the movements of the first half of the twentieth century, those that freed painting from the duty of depicting reality. "Contemporary" refers to the creation of today and of recent decades.
In everyday life, the two words meet: both speak of a free kind of painting, where colour and gesture express an emotion rather than a landscape or a face. Régine Gardan's canvases are contemporary by their time of creation and by their spirit: spontaneous, colourful, open to each viewer's interpretation. If this family of works speaks to you, our modern abstract painting collection extends the stroll with compositions of softer harmonies.
An Artist's Work at Home Rather Than Interchangeable Decoration
A printed reproduction dresses a wall. An original work inhabits it. You feel the difference every day: in front of a hand-painted canvas, the eye keeps discovering something new, a trace of the brush, a layering of pigments, a decision by the artist left visible in the paint. A mass-produced image, however polished, holds no such surprises.
Welcoming a contemporary abstract painting by Régine Gardan means bringing home a fragment of an artist's life: her favourite colours, her energy, her years of pictorial research. Each canvas comes with a certificate of authenticity, and delivery is free throughout the European Union. You receive a unique piece, the only one of its kind in the world, one that will carry your interior for decades to come.
In Which Interiors Does a Contemporary Abstract Painting Thrive?
Almost all of them, truth be told, because abstraction sits happily with the most varied styles. In a living room with light walls, a multicoloured composition becomes the meeting point of every gaze and sets the tone for the whole room. In a Scandinavian or minimalist interior, a canvas with strong contrasts brings the warmth that balances clean lines. In a hallway or a study, a work full of energetic gesture welcomes and stimulates.
A simple guideline: let the canvas breathe on an uncluttered wall, at eye level, and watch the natural light of the room throughout the day. Colours also shape our mood: warm tones energise, blues soothe. To choose colours that feel like you, our article on the psychology of colours will guide you step by step.
How Do You Choose Among These Thirty Unique Works?
Trust your emotion first. A canvas that stops you, one your gaze keeps returning to, has already found its place in your home. Then take a moment to check the dimensions against your wall, and picture the work in the light of your room, morning and evening alike. If you hesitate between several moods, the most radiant compositions on this page have sisters in our collection of multicoloured abstract paintings, where lively harmonies come in other formats.
And if a question remains, write to us: behind this site, Régine Gardan's son is happy to answer anyone wishing to know more about a canvas, its story or its colours. Each work is unique; the one waiting for you is too.
