Flash back to a few years ago:
I was at lunch with a group of people. Okay, so nothing exciting and nothing particularly out of the ordinary as we were talking about that year’s Opéra de Montréal’s performance schedule. What makes this a memory for me is that the person beside me blurted out to Napoleon that she needed to get “cultured” and was going to the Opéra to do it. “Is the infection you have contagious and wouldn’t a lab be better than the opera to identify it” was my immediate flippant reply but it was obvious that the original statement was her intention to declare that she wanted more exposure to the arts.

Flash forward to last week:
An opportunity arose to participate in an exposition of works by Caroline Leclerc, an artist on the cusp of a significant breakthrough. I knew she was an artist and though I really knew nothing of her style, influences or inspiration, I had heard whispers of raw talent from someone who had seen some of the work. Intriguing yes, in spite of memories of my old acquaintance bleating out that unfortunate phrase.

After wending my way in the dark to an unfamiliar corner of the Big Croissant, I arrived at a repurposed industrial building and came face to face with this statement of being:

« Resonance » is a compilation of paintings created over the last year. The term resonance refers to the interior noise – or vibrations – that Life with a capital L awakens deep within oneself. It is an attempt to express the indescribable as the moment’s emotions are conveyed through my brush…

I approach each painting very intuitively, probably to escape today’s operating mode by which society’s answers are rational, calculated and standardized. I also hope to overcome the numbness of our souls and beings to recapture the freedom of feeling life fully, deeply and intensely.

[Caroline Leclerc, November 2009]

Uh oh – I’m rational, calculated and standardized.

That aside, I already knew that i was ill-prepared for this showing as right-brain activities and I have really never gotten along. I wasn’t quite prepared for how ill-prepared I really was: the collection itself evokes a visceral primeval reaction that had me struggling for comprehension. This collection “felt” as if it was all about the nature of existence and the inevitability of change but I can’t be sure.

On one half of the exposition, there were groupings of works that evoked transience and delicacy. The predominant blues and pale swaths of yellow and green in a trio of pieces entitled envol, danse numéro 1, and danse numéro 2 held an ephemeral quality that made me think of Pierre Gagnaire (no, I wasn’t hungry). A second trio of works – effluve 1, effluve 2 and untitled – evoked the delicacy and complexity of orchids. Refuge brought forward memories of the sea.

Then there were the pieces that brought forward imagery of violence, fire and transformation: Rêverie. My little brain just doesn’t understand. Barcelone, the key work of the exposition, is an interplay of soft color and shadow that rides on an undertone of palpable tension. There is a pulsing understated anger within this painting. Again, my little brain has difficulty understanding and expressing the sensation except to say that it was disconcerting, especially as it’s a reaction which builds slowly as one looks at the piece.

Another, Chaleur grisante, was the sole piece to introduce a different material (sand) to further impart a metallic dimensionality to draw one in, but the whites and grey and the interplay of fire and metal made me think of Surtur. That drew a “wtf?” reaction from one of the others in attendance but I kept thinking of the frozen northlands ablaze as Surtur arrives - Surtr ferr sunnan með sviga lævi: skinn af sverði sól valtiva.

Regrets for going to this showing? Nope. I had a hard time with it – that I do admit. However, art is meant to elicit a response from those who experience it, and I had that in spades: this showing certainly did push all the right and wrong buttons. I don’t do events like this too often and it was worth taking the time to go.

In respect for the artist and her work, there are no photos of the pieces displayed. However, I’m doing you a favor because her work really should be experienced in person. Go contact her and make an appointment for a private viewing and a discussion on the inspiration and expression. You won’t regret it.

Website: http://www.carolineleclerc.com

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