This year, internationally-acclaimed French-American artist CharlElie Couture will be coming to Houston to perform on stage at Discovery Green, along with two other music bands from Quebec and the United States.
A multidisciplinary artist in the field of music, drawing, painting and poetry, CharlElie has released more than 25 albums and 18 soundtracks, and given 1,500 concerts worldwide. His last album, Même pas sommeil, was released in January 2019.
From Un avion sans aile to Toy Story, a musician for all ages
Born in Nancy, France, in 1956, CharlElie Couture graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (National School of Fine Arts) in Nancy. He defines himself as a “multist” artist, pursuing research around “Total Art”, seeking connections between the different forms of expression that are writing, image and music.
In 1978, for his PhD, CharlElie Couture chose the theme of “polymorphism of the mind” which he still explores today. On this occasion, he presented photos, texts and paintings, and he self-produced 12 chansons dans la sciure, a first disk that was released in a thousand copies, which attracted the attention of professionals, and thanks to which he received an invitation to perform during the Printemps de Bourges, a major annual music festival in France.
In 1981, he was the first French artist to sign with the Anglo-American Island Records label, alongside U2, Grace Jones and Robert Palmer for his album Poèmes rock. The album was recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studio in New York and was classified in January 2010 among the Top 25 albums that have marked the history of Rock in France. The title Comme un avion sans aile was a huge success and received a Gold record award, a Bus d’acier (French Rock prize), as well as a French rock prize by SACEM. The album is considered a major episode in the history of French rock.
CharlElie Couture has composed close to 20 film soundtracks; in 2019, 24 years after the original release of Toy Story, he re-recorded the leading song You’ve got a friend in me, which he also sang in the original. Additionally, he adapted two new titles in French for the release of the 4th animated film in the series.
A multidisciplinary artist
A web pioneer in the 1990s, he participated in various conferences on art and culture, developing the principle of creative interactivities. CharlElie Couture is a prolific creator: he paints, draws and photographs. He has published around 15 books of drawings and photos. His visual works are regularly exhibited in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the United States.
He moved to New York in 2004. Between 2010 and 2015, he created « The RE Gallery », both a workshop and a gallery on the 37th street in the heart of Manhattan (NY). In 2014/2015, the city of Nancy, France / Galeries Poirel presented a large retrospective exhibition “CharlElie, NCY – NYC” which, for the first time, brought together a hundred of his paintings, photos, sculptures, films and installations that he had produced since his adolescence. His work has been exhibited in Paris, Strasbourg, Rodez, Montréal, more recently in Sète and Montpellier, France.
A biography of the artist, CharlElie Poète rock, written by David Desvérité will be released in April 2020.
Awards :
2010 Chevalier des Arts et lettres
2003 Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, given by Mr Stephane Hessel
2001 Roland Garros 2001 collection is awarded the Lacoste prize
1999 Lacoste Prize for the best drawings sports book of the year Beaux Gestes
1998 Officier du Mérite National awarded by the Minister of the Cultural Affairs
1989 Academy Charles Cross Award
1978 Quintard Prize from Academy Stanislas for the quality of his Art studies
1976 Second prize for Young Photojournalist from the city of Nancy.
The 2020 French Cultures Festival
Each year in March, the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Houston coordinates the French Cultures Festival (FCF) in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. A celebration of the diversity of “francophonie”, it brings together people who not only speak French, but also feel, in one way or another, connected to France and the Francophone community.
The FCF gathers many institutional partners from museums, universities, schools, diplomatic representations, and many other organizations. Last year, over 40 cultural and educational events (concerts, exhibitions, conferences, dance performances, plays, film screenings, gastronomy events, French language contests…) were showcased in 11 different cities during the Festival, in the three states of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
2020 French Cultures Festival calendar to be available in the coming weeks on: http://frenchculture.org/2020FCF
Practical information:
Kick-off concert:
- Date: Friday, March 6, 2020
- Time: 6pm to 10pm
- Address: Discovery Green (1500 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77010)
- Free and family-friendly
- Free street parking, or parking garage accessible from Avenida de las Americas
- Webpage : http://bit.ly/2020FCFconcert
French Cultures Festival
- Webpage: org/2020FCF
- Facebook page: facebook.com/fr.culturalservicehtx