“Pascal’s landscapes evoke a sense of longing and loneliness…”
Pascal Blancon is an artist. As the German painter Anselm Kiefer said, “Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.”
Pascal is also an immigrant, and leaving one’s home country, even voluntarily, leaves one with a longing for home.
As both artist and immigrant, Pascal is constantly in search of something that can never be found. And therein lies the allure of his paintings.
Raised in Paris but nourished by the rugged landscapes of his father’s native Lozère in southern France, where he spent his summers as a child, Pascal catches a glimpse of home in every landscape he encounters. Whether in the farmlands of Lancaster County, the lush, gentle hills of Valley Forge, or the rivers and bridges of Philadelphia—he responds instinctively to the invitation they issue: Explore this path. Wade into this stream. Rest in the shade of this cluster of elms. I am here, even though you cannot see me … come find me.
Pascal left his native France in 1987 to pursue a career in commercial photography, first in Toronto, then for an 8-year stint in Hong Kong before moving to Philadelphia in 1997. Today, he is a landscape painter who works exclusively in oils at his studio in a 19th-century carriage house in the historic neighborhood of Germantown, in Philadelphia, where he’ll be happy to pour you a glass of wine and chat with you about art, music, life and the longing for home that we all share. (Virtual meetings are also available via Zoom—BYOB!)