"Underwater Forrest" Acrylic, Mixed Media on Canvas 101 x 121 cm
It is by juxtaposing textures and patterns that Karine Léger reveals the subtle sensitivity of her paintings. Superimposed layers of images and transparent acrylics create geometric shapes that recall elements of nature. Each shape is fiercely independent and yet these elements come together gracefully to meet, to overlap, or perhaps to pass one another in a journey that continues off the canvas. While each work may appear minimalist at first glance, the accumulation of material and narrative allows the work to gain in richness and complexity.
These moments and places - colours and textures - are collected by the artist outside the studio and are reshaped and reimagined. The first feelings are annotated on paper using watercolour or acrylic paint, which materialize in a collage work, once the artist is back in the studio. This process allows Karine Léger to gently lay the foundations for her next painting. It is possible to guess under each composition a visited landscape, a chosen memory that takes shape, as the artist adds colours and textures to the canvas.
If Léger’s approach is one of intuitive addition of material, her intention nevertheless remains very refined. A precious balance is achieved, enabling our gaze to gently rest on the work to find appeasement and comfort.
Through UNMAPPED, Karine Léger reveals for the very first time the entirety of her process by juxtaposing paper collages and works painted on canvas
