Christophe Ronel was born in 1964 in Rouen, Normandy. In a city imbued with painting, he had the privilege of growing up alongside his father, the landscape painter Marcel Laquay. Thus, from a very young age, Christophe Ronel absorbed this medium which he would never abandon. At the age of 10, he began to showcase his first paintings, and by 14, he was participating in collective exhibitions at the Rollin Gallery in Rouen, which also exhibited his father’s works. Then, at 17, the gallery offered him his first solo exhibition, an event Christophe speaks about with great emotion.
His exhibitions unfolded naturally, from Parisian salons to the Salon des Artistes Français at the Grand Palais, where he won the Gold Medal and the Grand Prize in 1993. Subsequently, his encounter with Suzanne Tarasiève, a prominent gallerist from Barbizon, proved to be decisive, marking the start of a collaboration spanning over 18 years.
An agrégé in fine arts, Christophe Ronel has also been teaching since 1990 at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et Métiers d'Arts Olivier de Serres in Paris. The artist divides his time between his studio, the school, and travel, a rich combination that complements each other and serves as a source of inspiration.
Christophe Ronel began with landscape painting under the guidance of his father, then his work gradually traversed the influences of Fauvism, Expressionism, and the CoBrA movement, all under the influence of the free figuration of the late 1980s. From the early 1990s to 1993, large formats appeared, art brut came into play, the palette narrowed, and writing made its entrance, a path began to take shape. From 1993 to 1994, underlying figuration resurfaced but in a different way, and writing evolved. It was in the mid-1990s that the “Ronel spirit” took form, an artistic style nourished by travel, literature, and encounters. The artist would say that "the ultimate goal remains painting," with subjects posed, everything is yet to be done. Thus began a work of internalization, interpretation, and recomposition to recreate an artistic whole where narration takes the lead.
Christophe Ronel loves to be surprised, to seek out possibilities, to explore new compositions, to make shifts. He blends places, cultures, objects, everything is infinitely reinvented. What is less known is the importance of literature and words, which are inseparable from the creative process for the artist. The story continues from painting to painting, even incorporating the title of the work into the heart of the material. Books hold great importance; Christophe spontaneously cites "Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino, "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk, as well as the literature of the Maghreb and Japan, entire worlds to discover, cultures to explore, words and calligraphies to master.
For over thirty years, more than one 120 solo exhibitions have been dedicated to him, both in France and abroad, in galleries, cultural centers, and museums in Paris, Lille, Amiens, Le Touquet, La Baule, Rouen, Barbizon, Brest, Chartres, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Saint Jean De Luz, Saint Malo, Brussels, Casablanca, Marrakech, Sousse, Hanover, Palm Beach, Singapore, and Tokyo. His paintings have notably been exhibited at the Château de Vascoeuil, the Abbey of Cercanceaux, the Palais Bénédictine of Fécamp, the Hôtel de Région in Rouen, the Archives of Chartres, the General Council of Seine Maritime, the Brittany Ferries collection, and at museums in Nice, the Bourdelle Museum in Paris, the Postal Museum in Paris, the Fine Arts Museum in Le Havre, Louviers, Châteauroux, Chartres, Brive, Aix-en-Provence, Girona, Sarajevo, Shanghai, the Art and Culture Center in Taegu, Korea, the Museum of Sarria, Spain, in Japanese museums in Matsumoto, Fukuoka, Nagano, the International Forum in Tokyo, the Aoyama Spiral Hall in Tokyo, the National Museum of China in Beijing, and the National Chinese Museum in Tianjin, as well as the National Museum of Taiwan.
Collections:
• Musée de Nice
• Fondation Compagnie Générale des Eaux
• Ville de Boulogne-Billancourt
• Conseil Général de Seine Maritime
• French Cultural Centers in Casablanca and Marrakech
• Museum of Sarajevo
• Brittany Ferries Company
• Cap Gemini
• Fondation Plage pour l'art
• Liquitex Laboratory, Le Mans
• Musée Daubigny, Auvers sur Oise
• Fondation OVALTO
Private Collections: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Morocco, Lebanon, United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, China, Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates
Awards and Commissions:
• 1991: Prix Arletty, selected for the endowment
• 1992: Invited to the Grand Prix of Contemporary Art, Monaco
• 1993: Gold Medal and Grand Prix at the Salon des Artistes Français, Paris
• 1994: Selected for France-Japan, exhibited in 12 cities in Japan organized by L’Oeil magazine and Nippon Television
• 1998: Commissioned to paint the “Jules Verne Trophy” for Cap Gemini, Paris
• 2004: Rugale Michailov Prize from the Taylor Foundation
• 2010: Guest of Honor at the Vincennes Salon
• 2012: Invited to the Biennale Off, Park Hyatt, Al Maaden Golf - Marrakech
• Monumental works at the Marrakech Biennale, headquarters of the Alliances group, Casablanca
• 2014: Guest of Honor at the Salon des Artistes du Marais - Mairie de Paris - 4th arrondissement
• 2015: Guest of Honor at the Puls’Art Festival - Le Mans
• Created a 40 m² ceramic mosaic mural for the Moroccan Ministry of Culture - Historical Documentation Center of Essaouira
• 2018: Invited to the Kunst Doc Contemporary Art Festival in ULSAN - South Korea
• “Tribute to Marcel Duchamp” - Homage to the Norman ready-maker - Galerie de l’Hôtel de ville, Rouen
• 2022: Adolphe Gumery Prize from the Taylor Foundation awarded to a traveling painter

Christophe Ronel : Words from the gallery

It was 15 years ago, and I haven’t forgotten. While visiting the Lille Art Fair, I discovered Christophe Ronel’s paintings around a corner. Intrigued, I approached and entered this dreamlike world, losing myself in it. All my comings and goings brought me back to his work. Fifteen years later, and to my great delight, we are finally working together. It is an emotion as fresh as the first day that I wish to share with you.