Who is David Popa ?
David Popa is an artist born and raised in New York, currently based in Finland. His father Albert Popa one of New York’s first graffiti artists taught him traditional painting at an early age. However what ultimately drove Popa to pursue art full time were the adventures he could have in the great outdoors exploring nature. He paints his artworks using natural pigments mixed solely with spring water to create ephemeral site specific works that can be captured by the eye of a drone.
The large scale works Popa paints mainly on islands and islets in the Nordic region are documented and presented through photographs short films and, more recently unique digital artworks ( Popa’s work seeks to enter the realm of anthropology with regard to the origin nature and fate of human beings). Using natural pigments such as charcoal earth pigments and ground shells he uses the same raw materials that would have been used in the first cave paintings 40 000 years ago.
The art at Château Cantenac Brown
It is on the grounds of Cantenac Brown that David Popa will soon lay his mark. Cantenac Brown already has a very strong link with art. It is in the heart of the Castle that John Lewis Brown, illustrious naturalist painter and grandson of the founder of the estate, made a large part of his works.
Friend of some of the greatest impressionists of his time such as Degas, Pissaro, Manet or Toulouse-Lautrec, John Lewis Brown distinguished himself in the realization of animal compositions or scenes of war.
Aware of this artistic heritage and with a deep respect for nature, Tristan Le Lous, owner of the Castle, launched his own work of art: the construction of a cellar in raw soil.
Inspired by the artist’s commitment, Tristan Le Lous invited David Popa to create a biodegradable fresco in raw earth in spring 2022 on the Cantenac plateau in front of the castle, when the first leaves arrive on the vines It will disappear on its own at the first rains.“Everyone knows that the secret of an exceptional wine is above all the soil. Explains David Popa. And it is this earth that I take as a medium, with as much the respect as we one it”.
David Popa’s ephemeral work, entitled “The Power of the Earth”, will be preserved through an NFT, a unique digital artwork, which will be sold in cryptocurrency. The proceeds from the sale accruing to Château Cantenac Brown will be donated to the Conservatoire du Littoral, a French national trust which buys virgin lands and save it from urbanization.