After numerous pandemic related postponements, work by Fredericton-based artist Ysabelle Vautour is now on display in the Charlotte Street Arts Centre’s Penny Gallery.
Matt Carter
It took a while, but Ysabelle Vautour finally has her own exhibition of work. Her first since she started doing portraits in 2019.
Working mainly in portraiture, Vautour’s work is largely characterized by a combination of vivid colours and tight framing used to capture the emotion of her subjects.
“I am interested in a person’s true colours, so to speak; their vibrancy and what lies inside them that yerns to be expressed,” said Vautour. “I have always been fascinated by faces and what feelings they convey, and I often feel that it’s my duty as an artist to be an active listener to discover a person’s essence.”
In many ways, Vautour’s work is defined by a vivid use of colour, an interesting trait for an artist with a visual impairment.
“My visual impairment affects the way I see the light and colours,” she said. “I am very light sensitive and how it affects me in what mood it can cast. Because I can’t see colours, I don’t bother painting skin tones in a realistic way. I paint intuitively, allowing space for what is about to surface.”
Jacqueline Carr, chair of the exhibition, said Vautour is living proof that art can and should be accessible to everyone.
“Her paintings draw me into a place that is joyful, thoughtful, nostalgic, playful, dark and completely relatable,” said Carr. “There is a comforting, if not nostalgic familiarity to her portraits, like I know how this person is feeling because I have felt it myself.”
Vautour’s solo exhibit is now on display in the Penny Gallery of the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, and will be open to the public and free of charge (with COVID-19 protocols in place) on March 12 between 4-6 p.m. There are two other solo exhibits happening in each wing of the Charlotte Glencross Gallery showcasing the works of Kaitlin Hoyt and Diane (Dian) Davis.
There is also a virtual exhibit that can be viewed online.
