Paul STEWART

About Artist:

Dominique Kermène is a holistic contemporary artist, perpetually seeking new mediums to satisfy her creative quest. Over the course of her thirty year career, she has explored numerous ways to express the various stages of her life. Her artistic journey began in the 1980s when Dominique joined the American Center's photographic workshop led by Scott MacLeay. There she studied the passing of time, seeking to capture the atemporal essence in worn-out objects and on the wrinkled features of old people. Her black-and-white silver based work was exhibited in Arles (rencontres Off) in 1985 and in Paris in 1994 and 1996 (Off of the Month of Photography). With the birth of digital, the scanner became a new and unexpected mean of expression for Dominique. She creates stunning images where colours contrast sharply with the pure white background. Drawing on her roots in the Limousin region of France, she collects modest treasures, left there by nature or the uncaring human hand - seeds, leaves, petals, pieces of rusted metal or used plastic - her welcoming gaze providing them with a new lease of life.During the 1990s, Dominique began painting, pushed by the irresistible need for a direct and sensual contact with matter on canvas. Her large pieces testify the artist's feelings and the vibrating energy of colour. Her ever-evolving quest seeks to strike a balance between silent observation, introspection and the spontaneous rush of creation. Indeed, the artist must allow the canvas to create itself since "the hand can grasp what the mind has not yet”. The last decade was the opportunity to discover a new and fascinating medium: etching, allowing her to return to her initial love of black and white and she discovers anew the emotional power of the black on a limited space, sometimes complemented by a flash of colour transcending bichromie. The burn of the acid evokes the peasant's furrow whence a new life surfaces. A brave new world to explore!