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“Contouring Eve” exhibit opening

By Staff | Oct 25, 2013

The Arts and Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County (AHA!) is hosting a reception for Jefferson County artist Isabelle Truchon, Friday, Nov. 8, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. AHA Fire Hall Gallery, is located in the Charles Town Visitor’s Center, 108 North George Street, Charles Town. Come see Isabelle’s recent paintings and frescos. Exhibition dates are Nov. 8 – 29, 2013. Gallery hours are Wed. – Sun. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

CONTOURING EVE is the latest body of work from artist Isabelle Truchon, which looks at the basic form and shape that makes up the female figure.

Gestural, expressive and delicate Truchon paints her ?representations of the female form in a mostly earthy monochromatic palette.?The subtleties of the umber, ochre and sienna tones are lavishly complimented by the use of a rich? substrate of textured fresco, a technique the artist developed using flexible canvas with plaster decades ago while reproducing large scale frescoes in California. Using line, Truchon lets her instrument guide her to contour the beauty and simplicity of the female silhouette. Omitted shapes accentuate the obvious, while prominent lines help guide the eye to travel along the body’s curvaceous concourse, letting the mind wander to it’s own conclusions. Layers of wax cover the surfaces, providing a rich and sensuous quality to the harmonious works.

The pieces are intrinsically connected through Truchon’s use of an effective layering process by applying multiple coats of media, then rewetting the plaster to create a sense of history to the substrates of her paintings. The artist uses a lot of water, both out of necessity, and its symbolism of being life-giving. The water combined with the plaster creates a honed essence, unique to fresco. The fusion of organic and natural media such as dry pigments, wax, and charcoal, employed in Truchon’s work takes on a life of its own, that is all at once ethereal, earthy, and human. Like moments captured in time, the paintings tell a story, and her figures are the bearers of the sweet, contemplative, or troubled emotions welling up inside the artist’s soul.

Contouring Eve is about the beauty of the female form, its power and its fragility.

Truchon has been in the art industry, installing, curating, producing, and contracting for two decades.

Though she considers herself self-taught, she recently earned her BFA degree in painting and drawing from The Contemporary Art and Theatre Department of Shepherd University.