DRUNK on COLORS...

Diderot, in his Essay on Painting , wrote : « It is drawing that gives form to beings; it is color that gives them life. That is the divine breath that animates them. [...] There is no shortage of excellent draftsmen ; there are few great colorists.» Françoise Cauvin has both talents. Indifferently, depending on the inspiration, it will give supremacy to one or the other.

In Ancient Egypt, colors were used symbolically to represent the forces of the universe. Despite what we might think when we look at the ancient inherited works, colors were way stronger. The pastel tone we know is actually due to the tears of time and their conditions of preservation. Over centuries, patrons and artists have developed privileged color palettes: religious art, Chinese art, Islamic art... Colors, depending on the period (medieval, Baroque, Renaissance...) or artistic movement (Impressionism, expressionism, Fauvism...) have been used to celebrate, organize and signify ideas, principles, and feelings. That is without mentioning those who personified colors: Klein Blue, Veronese Green, Soulages Beyond black...

One instantly understands that color is exhilarating in Cauvin's work. Her palette is limited, but harmony plays a great role in creation. As in a patchwork, different and opposed tonalities are instinctively joined. Thus, she did not set colors on a surface to conquer. She wandered, her hand instinctively guiding her brush in a colorful mist.

This way of working with color also results in irregular and atypical formats, sometimes the subject ended up off-centered as a consequence, and the initial surface was cut off.

Françoise Cauvin was a vibrant person, celebrating life and embracing it with strong energy and a will to act. Her gift as a colorist really shines through her abstract works.

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