Eve Saint Jean
Artwork’s Title: Scène de déluge (“Scene of the Flood”)
Materials Used: Acrylic on canvas
Studio Based: Montréal (QC, Canada)
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
For each of the canvases in this current production, I’m inspired by classic paintings that have been seen and studied so much that they are now part of our collective imagination. I deconstruct these classical paintings using the main rules of composition of Western classical painting to transform them into works that are my own and completely abstract. I pay particular attention to shadows and light making them more tangible, shadows symbolizing those archaic archetypes and stereotypes that follow us, that haunt us.
How would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
Organic abstraction of our collective imaginary.
How did you come up with the idea of ‘Scène de déluge‘? Is there any story behind this artwork?
The title of this artwork takes the title of the classical painting of inspiration of 1806 “Scène de déluge” by Anne-Louis Girodet.
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments in your studio or do you always come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning?
I always come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning. I create some digital colored sketches and work on these til I find the composition and colors that I like and that I think are the best fit for the topic of the piece.
Is there any particular theme that utterly triggers you to engage your art with?
Psychology and the human psyche.
What would be the best way to exhibit your work?
In a solo exhibition with all the different medium I’m playing with.
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
Valentine Schlegel, Isamu Noguchi, Jean Arp, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth et Camille Henrot.
Do you ever wonder if additional work was needed, when an artwork’s making process is finished?
Sometimes, it depends on the medium I work with. But it is very rare that I feel that way with my paintings.
What about the place where you work? What’s your studio space look like?
I have a small studio in my apartment, a room dedicated exclusively to my art of about 10 square feet, with a brick wall and a window, a few canvases lying around and a few drawings hanging on the walls.
What does your mum think about your art?
She doesn’t understand anything about it but she often mentions that she is proud of me, despite the stress that my profession provides her.
Which exhibition did you visit last?
Considering the current situation of pandemic and social distancing measures, most cultural institutions have unfortunately been closed most of the time since last year so my exhibition visits have been very rare lately. The last exhibition I visited was “Paris in the Days of Post-Impressionism – Signac and the Independents” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last summer.
Which are your plans for the near future?
I would love to exhibit more of my work outside of Montreal, in other cities in Canada such as Toronto or elsewhere in the world.
Additional Paintings
Images courtesy of the artist