Art & Grands Cru by Sylvain VIAUT SUD OUEST <br>He uses wine as paint. He paints wine. He paints with wine. Only with wine. <br>...strange aesthetic continuation of the delicate art of wine testing. <br>His indisputable "touch", that for many years was trained by the practices of advertising graphics, was no longer satisfied with portraits of Miles Davis, designs or advertisings logos. br>A personal exhibition he presented in Bordeaux in 1997 showed him the way. <br>A "decisive quick sketch" in the springtime of 2000 toppled him into a completely different world. <br><b>The "Butterfly" effect</b> <br>"I was in a restaurant. Whilst I was wainting for my meal to arrive, i had the idea of testing the brushes I had bought, by using the wine in my glass..." <br>Four years after, Philippe Dufrenoy still continues to amaze people with this "butterfly effect", the distracted and discreet swish of his paintbrush in a small Bordeaux restaurant. <br>Then in a few months the whole business spiralled. <br><b>From Bordeaux to California</b> <br>In Decembre, Philippe Dufrenoy presented his project of <b>Great Growth wine</b> portraits to the Board of Directors of the Union des Grands Crus. <br>Between January and March 2001, he had to paint seventeen portraits. <br>He forged ahead. <br>Then everything took off from there... <br>Then, along came Vinexpo. <br>Robert Mondavi, the King of Napa Valley in California, was also won over. <br>And many more followed. <br> <br>Il peint au vin. Il peint le vin. Il peint avec du vin. Et uniquement avec du vin. <br>...etrange prolongement esthetique à l'art subtil de la degustation. <br>Son incontestable "patte", rodee depuis longtemps aux pratiques du graphisme publicitaire, ne se satisfaisait plus de l'accumulation des portraits de Miles Davis ou de la conception de logos publicitaires. <br>Une expo personnelle a Bordeaux, en 1997, lui a montre la voie. Un "griphonnage decisif", au printemps 2000, l'a fait basculer dans un autre monde. <br>"Effet Papillon" <br>"J'etais au restaurant. En attendant ma commande, j'ai eu l'idee de tester les pinceaux que je venais d'acheter en utilisant le vin que j'avais dans mon verre..." <br>Quatre and apres, Philippe Dufrenoy n'en finit pas de s'etonner de cet "effet papillon", de ce coup de pinceau distrait et discret dans un petit resto bordelais. <br>Puis l'affaire s'est emballée en quelques mois. <br>De Bordeaux a la Californie. <br>En decembre, Philippe Dufrenoy presentait son projet de grands portraits aux grands crus devant le Conseil d'Administration de l'Union des ... Grands Crus. De Janvier à mars 2001, il lui fallait réaliser dix-sept portraits. <br>Il a fonce. Puis tout est parti... Vinexpo est arrivé. Robert Mondavi, le pape de la Napa Valley en Californie, a succombé. Et d'autres après lui.
