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Artist Statement – Art & Design
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Emotional connection through art and design is a constant quest in my work. Light emerging from fractured spaces will reach you, camouflaged characters will find their way to your heart, expressive typography will sing to your eyes, and vibrant colors will catch your attention, whether through a poster in a bus shelter or a piece of fine art.
Texture is an important underlying component of my visuals, as it reveals that time left its mark (a rusty metal plate, a fading painted wall) and elements matured. I also use texture to suggest movement, to create distance, or to emphasize one specific part of a composition. Combined with dramatic compositions, and with rich colors – I like to juxtapose similar and/or dissonant tones to create vibration – it keeps the eyes of the viewer engaged and the picture becomes magically “alive”.
In my fine art explorations, I might spice things up by placing a fresh coat of paint outside to let it crack under the sun, and later adding some golden pigments to create shimmery effects that make the artwork change during the day according to the ambient light. As a graphic artist, I use such visual vocabulary to enhance concepts, and to invite the viewers to look at my artwork with attention, which creates an attachment that helps deliver the message my piece aims to convey.
Both my quests – Art & Design – are interconnected.
Both are about sensitivity, truth, expression, vibrations, tension and resolution, and both are also a bit playful, just like life itself.
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About Astrid Chevallier’s Paintings
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Astrid Chevallier’s paintings are an invitation to pause, breathe and reconnect with our true nature.
She focuses on visual rhythms inspired by Nature (such as ice, water, rock formations, plants…), but her goal goes beyond representation as she aims to explore the very essence of the elements. She breaks down the natural structure in several components and while the colors and some forms resurface, instead of a formal representation she uses rhythm and negative space to convey the emotional impression one can get from observing the original subject.
Some of the golden line patterns are inspired by Mayan and pre-Columbian art, which belong to civilizations that where more immersed in nature than our modern society. Some of the gold accent in her latest work is more directly focused towards the dynamic of plants and living matters.
The gold elements, may they be spots, lines, or surfaces, have an essential purpose: by reflecting the light, they bring a sense of life to the painting. In a natural light environment (by a window for example), the movement of the sun will bring a sense of time, and one might be looking forward to that moment of the day when the sun hits the painting and the gold fires up.
The gold “vibrant” effect, which emphasizes the precious and unique aspect of her paintings (she refers to them as “jewels” for the walls), has become her signature over the years.
The resulting pieces provide a quiet flow of visual movement; a zen, playful and beautiful space to get immersed into, for it heals the eyes and calms the mind.
In a time and age where we are constantly exposed to visuals and commercials, where we move too fast and expect too often quick results, where too many natural textures have been replaced by plastic and man made material, Astrid Chevallier’s paintings provide a quiet place to stop the fast pace and let our minds safely wander, heal, and grow.
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