Florian Zumbrunn
Florian and I met in Paris a few years ago, and we’ve been friends ever since. Our conversation took place over Google Meet, a familiar yet distant space where geography feels less like an obstacle.
Calm, thoughtful, and deeply curious, Florian has a way of making you feel present, whether at a chaotic dinner at Café Charlot, or across screens.
We talked first about his journey: starting in Paris, discovering the Disruptive Gallery through Matt DesLauriers, and finally wanting to bring his generative work into a physical setting. Florian explained that while code is central to his creative process, he never wanted to be stuck behind a screen. His desire to merge the digital with the tangible led to Moments, a series that he first generated digitally and then painstakingly enriched by hand with dry and oil pastels. It’s a hybrid practice that blends algorithmic rigor with the subtle imperfections of human touch, creating landscapes that feel both meticulously structured and effortlessly alive.
Florian is married to a Japanese sculptor and ceramicist, and their shared passion for practice informs everything he does. They exchange ideas constantly, inspire one another, and navigate the challenges of creative life together. That dialogue, he explains, is central to the way he approaches Moments, as it’s built not only on personal reflection, but on a deeply attuned sensitivity to collaboration, even if it is with oneself.
Moments is deeply inspired by Florian’s time in traditional Japanese ryokans, by the serenity of shoji screens and the meditative order of Japanese architecture. Each artwork functions like a window into a memory, fragmentary yet familiar, a landscape reconstructed as souvenirs fade over time. The series invites viewers to slow down, to observe details from multiple angles, and to become participants in the narrative—their eyes completing what Florian leaves open.
Florian’s work resonated with me on a deeply personal level. As a third-culture kid, I’ve always felt pulled between worlds, navigating the spaces between heritage, memory, and place. Growing up, I spent countless hours captivated by Monet, mesmerized by the way he captured light, fleeting moments, and the textures of memory. In Moments, I saw a similar sensibility—a meditation on passing time, on fragments of experience, and on landscapes that exist somewhere between reality and imagination. The shoji-inspired grids, the layered textures, and the delicate balance between structure and organic flow felt like a mirror to my own way of experiencing the world: attentive, layered, and always a little nostalgic.
By the time our conversation ended, I felt as though I had traveled not only through Florian’s landscapes but also through shared experiences of memory, practice, and creative obsession. Moments is more than an exhibition; it’s a window into the rhythm of his thoughts, the echoes of his travels, and the patience it takes to reconcile digital precision with human imperfection. And as a friend of the artist, watching him navigate these dualities felt like witnessing a quiet triumph—a reminder that the most personal work often resonates the most universally.
And thank you, Florian, for confirming my French Cabal membership.
À vous, Florian, et à vos Moments qui font rêver… Merci.
Votre amie,
– Joana