Artist Statement

My adventurous journey as an artist has been focused on accessing the magic pool of vibrant colors and life forces deep within me. I marvel at the infinite richness and divine beauty of colors, sounds, patterns, textures and fragrance of Mother Nature. 

I am inspired and amazed by the powerful and dynamic cycles of life, which generate newness and oneness. The circular movements of planets and every cell, the miraculous growth of plants and mountains, the morning’s eclosion of roses and the buoyancy of ocean waves fascinate me.

Artists and musicians like Klee, Matisse, Tombly, Motherwell, Frankenthaler, Anatsui, Bach, Hafiz, Rumi, Hildegard von Bingen and Mozart have inspirited my art and life. West Africa’s land, fabrics, textiles, music and dance have been an influential catalyst in my paintings, revealing the warmth of vibrant colors niched in my soul.

As well as other Indigenous cultures remembering our origins, African, Japanese, Thai, Indian, or Native and South American‘s textiles are a living source of inspiration for me like music.

I resonate with  an Aboriginal artist who said that he expresses the power and spirit of figures without representing them. My art is similar. Today, I do not represent or create images; I give voice to living sensations and visions through my paintings.

A balance between spontaneity and maturation guides my process. I let my intuition initiate the first layers of colors, materials  and gestures, which take me into a vast unknown full of creative energy. My mind becomes a creative servant while my spontaneous heart takes the lead.  

While painting, I activate the energetic power of colors that embody life forces and spirit. These colors, which are unique in frequencies, emerge organically layer after layer to their own rhythm.  My paintings then become a kind of intimate “living art.” They need to be felt by the heart in order to be seen.  

While intuitively exploring the spatial and life power of colors, I see how they echo with each other. They call out to one another to liberate their maximal vibrancy and accentuate the flow and harmony.

 I feel colors like musical notes bouncing off each other.

For example, I saw magnificent yellows and purple while listening to the cicada’s sounds. Slowly, I see preludes and concertos emerging in colors on fabric and paper imbued by inks, crayons and pigments. By layering, adding, subtracting and collaging, I sail between wild fields of energetic colors and organic spaces. Recently, a close friend told me that I give wings to colors.

I enjoy the progressive emergence of lively colors surfacing: in fields, in lines, in structured and unstructured patterns, creating a dialogue with one another. 

Painting to me is as essential as breathing air in nature. My creative process is spiritual, vital and intimate, allowing the joy of communing with the bliss of colors and wild forces gushing out from the Source.  

Painting is a way to chant and celebrate life’s creative magic and beauty.

Exhibiting my art is a way to bring forth and share with people the same lifeblood and Spirit that is alive in them. 

Today, I feel inspired to develop an installation with: sculptures, which are columns of colors made of recycled textile cones; floating clothes; books and scrolls, that will be dedicated to particular people and meaningfully placed in space.

A subtle and mysterious drive from within invites me to plunge into new, larger territories, engaging colors and materials with the concrete third dimension of space. My child-like spirit is eager to ride the waves of this new creative adventure.

Education

• M.A Degree with Honors in Art History  and Archaeology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

• Ecole Nationale des Arts Visuels et d’Architecture de la Cambre, Brussels, Belgium

• Study Abroad at the New York Studio School, New York; Art Institute, San Francisco; National College of Art, Dublin, Ireland

• Licensed Growth Educator with PRH Institute, an International School for Adult Development since 1970