jean-michel raczinski - peintures

archeology 1 to 4

acrylic on paper - 19.68 x 19.68 in – 2026

Windows Series: Four squares designed as genuine openings.

The shapes visible on the surface are organized in alternately horizontal and vertical triplets. Fragments of letters, slivers of numbers, ancient symbols?

The underlying numerical structure (yet to be discovered) is an order-6 magic square, traditionally associated with the Sun. Symmetrical structures define both the first pair and the second.

Created in June 2026 on exceptional cotton paper (1200 gsm), these four squares are presented to the public for the very first time during the transparences exhibition at the Orangerie du Sénat, from July 31st to August 11th.

cornflowers 5 to 8

acrylic on plexiglas - diameter 11.81 x 0.98 in - 2026

Echoing the four cornflowers created in late 2025, these new pieces adopt rounder shapes that are just as radiant and luminous, designed - once again - to be displayed as a quartet or individually.

They share the same reference to those small blue spring flowers, as well as the same subtly blue-tinted plexiglas trimmed with a vibrant fluorescent blue edge. The entire series was painted in the height of spring, just a few days after Pentecost.

and of the Holy Face

acrylic on canvas - 28.74 x 23.62 in - 2016

The title refers to Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, better known as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Entering the Carmelite order in 1888, she took the name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.

This painting is dedicated to her following an impromptu visit to the Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris, next to the Louvre. An exhibition of photographs was being held there. The power of her gaze, yet so gentle, impressed me immediately.

In a photo taken by her sister Céline in June 1897, just a few months before her death on September 30 at the age of twenty-four, she is holding two images: one depicting the infant Jesus and the other a reproduction of the Holy Shroud of Turin. She held a very special devotion to the image of her Spouse as a young child. Perhaps this was a symbol of her "Little Way"?

It was in the weeks surrounding that visit to Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois that I refined a technique that allows me to control the contrasts of transparency and texture, as well as their movement, and to play with light, all of this very quickly, without any preconceived intent, giving free rein to "chance."

Here: a first session in the morning for the background; the pearl white in the afternoon; no retouching.

I still don't really know why this painting bears this title!

let's dance

acrylic on plexiglas - 28.35 x 39.37 x 6.10 in - 2024

"let's dance" is a tribute to Henri Matisse, from whom I borrowed a few elements of his painting "La Danse," painted in 1909 for the Russian collector Sergei Shchukin and currently housed in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

My painting is part of a series called "transparencies."

It depicts figures in motion amidst forms that can be interpreted as vegetal, mineral, or purely symbolic.

It is created on Plexiglas with a fluorescent blue border, both transparent and reflective, using iridescent pigments and a textured surface so that the viewer's perception of the work changes depending on variations in lighting or when moving in front of the painting.

This is therefore a painting filled with hope, freedom, humanity, energy, and life on a surface that reflects our multifaceted world, where reflections and transparencies interact and draw us into their movements. It also suggests a more intimate vision, a kind of inner dialogue through the artwork, towards the other side of the mirror.

The painting was presented at Galerie 41 in Saint-Mandé in October 2025 and then at the Grand Palais in Paris as part of the Art Capital 2026 exhibition in February 2026.

square of Sun

acrylic on plexiglas - 35.43 x 35.43 x 6.30 in - 2025

This painting was first presented at Galerie 41 in Saint-Mandé in October 2025. It was then exhibited at the 42nd Delacroix Art Exhibition in Saint-Maurice from January 31 to February 14, 2026.

It is a solar magic square created on a transparent plexiglas sheet, heated to three-dimensional form and covered with white acrylic paint, itself coated with pure golden pigments.

The magic square of order 6 arranges the first 36 numbers (from 1 to 36) in 6 rows and 6 columns such that the sums of each row, each column, and the two diagonals are identical (111). This digital structure, engraved on the plexiglas, is clearly visible from within the painting.

Traditions attribute solar values to these 6-order squares: success, benevolence, warmth, light and dynamism which will probably be found in the apparently disordered movements of some figures and in an overall impulse of embrace.

square of Mars

acrylic on plexiglas - 39.37 x 39.37 x 2.17 in - 2024

The dual of the square of Venus painted a few months earlier, this square dedicated to Mars is based on an order-5 magic square formed of the numbers from 1 to 25 distributed across 5 rows and 5 columns, arranged so that the sums of each row, each column, and the two diagonals are identical (65), with the central number being 13.

Engraved on transparent plexiglas with a more structured relief, the numbers assert themselves here with greater force.

They are covered with a more raw and minimalist material, itself topped with a fine layer of gold powder that catches the light and casts a truly singular glow.

square of Venus

acrylic on plexiglas - 39.37 x 39.37 x 1.58 in - 2023

Dedicated to Venus, and thus to beauty, this artwork is based on an order-7 magic square containing the numbers from 1 to 49 distributed across 7 rows and 7 columns, arranged so that the sums of each row, each column, and the two diagonals are identical (175), with the central number being 25.

Engraved on transparent plexiglas, the numbers come to life on a semi-randomly sculpted relief surface. They are covered with a series of fine, iridescent colored layers like delicate veils, ultimately topped with a layer of gold powder that glows brilliantly in the sun.

Mars in white & black

acrylic on plexiglas - 35.43 x 35.43 x 2.36 in - 2025

I created this painting in late August 2025 specifically for the 42nd Delacroix Art Exhibition in Saint-Maurice, on the theme of "black & white."

It was there on display from January 31 to February 14, 2026.

It is an iridescent white acrylic painting on a dark gray tinted, semi-transparent, and slightly three-dimensional plexiglas support.

The digital structure is a magic square of order 5, formed from the numbers 1 to 25 arranged in squares across 5 rows and 5 columns such that the sums of each row, each column, and the two diagonals are identical (65).

These numbers are engraved on the plexiglas support and are still visible in places.

Squares of order 5 are traditionally associated with the values of Mars: strength, vigor, determination, and power—not only military or warlike, as Mars is also the protector of harvests, a symbol of fertility and renewal…

This is why you will likely also discover some figures, animals, and plants in this juxtaposition of squares.

descriptions