|
Simple
Short Stories
Rare signs of a human presence, the sailboats of France Jodoin seem defenseless before the violence and immensity of the sea, lost at the point where it merges with the sky. Creating silhouettes of boats without sails, barely sketched in, tossed by the turbulent waves or floating in the mist of calmer seas, her sea-scapes are at the same time studies of traditional subjects in art history and a reflection on pictorial space. In the same way, the work of Kevin Somnor is nourished by ambiguities. Specifically, he matches bits of classical subjects - flowers, fruits, still lives, horses - with a more contemporary technique, a spontaneous brush-stroke, a texture modern and fluid, with a powerful colorization.
Both artists bring time to a halt, freeze a moment, tell a story or a narrative, in a space where a strange sadness or a vivid emotion is expressed by a deep comprehension of a painting itself, by the exploration of texture, between a kind of reality and an evident theatricality.
As with their horses, or their ships, they seem to exemplify both sturdiness and fragility, which makes of them a duo of complementary artists as well as an appealing couple. It is not surprising then that their work is now united in this exhibition of the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke.
It was an undeniable pleasure working with these two artists in 2009, for the Salon du Printemps, and it is with great joy that we present them again to tell you their Simple Short Stories.
-Sarah Boucher
Conservatrice
Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke
|
