Catherine Querneau
Lorient, Bretagne, France
Website
catherinequerneau.bigcartel.com
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
In between abstraction and figuration, my paintings can be seen as inner landscapes — a space conducive to meditation and contemplation. While I am sensitive to the nature surrounding me, I do not seek to represent real spaces. Instead, through introspection, it's about revealing how my sensations and emotions are imbued with my familiar environment. Some paintings distance themselves from the evocation of a landscape, and I am currently looking to develop this direction.
What inspires you?
A list of words, the names of colors. Poetry and literature. Water, sand, and dreams. The mineral and vegetable worlds. The movement of water and tides; the moors and marshes; rain, mist, and rocks. Walking along coastal paths — sensing and feeling how the surrounding nature nourishes my thoughts and my imagination.
The music of Bach and Mozart. The feeling of loss, absence. Traces, and the idea of passage.
Can you speak about your process?
I create small gouache paintings on paper. Paper has always been my preferred medium. I work on several paintings simultaneously. I begin by preparing the backgrounds with first layers of paint, and then wait — sometimes for several days or weeks — before continuing. This is a time for feeling, observing, and imagining what the surface calls for.
I then apply new layers of paint, with varying degrees of transparency, until I achieve the desired tone and texture. This last step is done quite rapidly, intuitively, to transcribe the emotion or idea surfacing in the present moment. Uncertainty, hesitation, spontaneity of the gesture take part in the final result.
The color palette I use ranges from whites and browns — tones of earth and clay — to 2 shades of blue and green. I combine neutral, muted, and grayish tints with more vivid touches. I try to keep certain areas of the work free of additions to preserve a sense of simplicity and harmony.
I love flat tints of color, the matte and powdery finish of gouache, and its potential for transparency and layering. Other fluid techniques, such as ink and watercolor, also suit what I seek to express.
How did you become interested in art?
I would say I have always been in contact with various forms of art, since some of my family members were painters, applied arts teachers, sculptor or musician. There was no close connection with them, though. As a child, I drew constantly, also making illustrations for the little stories I wrote. In some way, an artistic path was natural for me.
Drawing predominated my practice for a long time. After studying applied arts, I began offering figurative, narrative drawings to private clients. Alongside this, I created abstract works using ink, plant fibers, and tissue paper. Later, I narrowed my production to very small pieces, mixing techniques and moving toward greater abstraction over time. Eventually, I moved to larger formats, creating abstract works in charcoal, chalk, or pastel.
Painting came rather recently, and I am self-taught in this discipline. It is currently my prevailing form of expression, although I intend to continue alternating painting with drawing.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
There are some painters whose work touches me particularly, such as Geneviève Asse, Etel Adnan, Ilse d’Hollander, Nicolas de Staël, and Mark Rothko. There are so many others I admire, like Joan Mitchell or Henri Matisse, even though my work is very different from theirs.
