Trained at SERMAC (Fort-de-France municipal cultural action service), the artist Prisca Toulon Marie-Claire painted since a young age. She started by organizing private exhibitions at her home, then made it her career from 2015.
The “Emerging Graphics” exhibition, currently visible at the Atrium, is presented in 3 stages. She combines several techniques and instruments, acrylic and felt in particular. Around forty paintings and around twenty drawings are on display. The paintings are colorful and full of life, like the Caribbean region, a central theme for the artist.
Nature and the Caribbean, first sources of inspiration
Born in Martinique, Prisca Toulon Marie-Claire is keen to highlight the landscapes of the region through her works. She was also inspired by her trip to the Grenadines archipelago to offer something new: the ” Travelogue “. It is presented in a corner of the exhibition and composed of around twenty drawings. The concept: one day, one island, one drawing.
The “Island Epic” painting illustrates this desire to highlight Caribbean landscapes.
Island epic is the largest canvas in my exhibition. She is 1m60 by 1m. And I wanted to represent Martinique in all its states
To do this, the artist introduces emblematic places of the island such as Montagne Pelée, Rocher du Diamant and the Pitons du Carbet. It also represents flora with, for example, sugar cane, the pillar of Martinican agriculture.
Paintings relate to each person, each experience
The artist evokes “visual metaphors”. For her, it is a matter of “suggesting”. Thus, everyone can let themselves be carried away by their imagination and freely interpret their works. In this way, Prisca Toulon Marie-Claire recalls the subjectivity of Art and seeks to “integrate” the viewer.
In his exhibition, the visitor is not passive: he is an actor of his art. Ultimately, it is above all the titles of the paintings that direct us towards the artist’s vision…
The third part of the graphics is really, almost totally abstract. On the paintings we recognize… Finally, we think we recognize a sunset, a sunrise, a landscape… It’s linked to the title I give. But if I don’t put “Underwater Magic” or if I don’t put “Mirage”… In fact, we can say that it’s either on land, or in the water or on the water, etc. .
An exhibition in preparation for 4 years, influenced by the Covid pandemic
For example, the Nebulae… After Covid, I wanted to get out of the earth’s atmosphere which was a bit… stifling. I decided to go to space
For this, the artist was inspired by photos of astronaut Thomas Pesquet, taken from the space station. This section of the exhibition is the darkest. At the back of the gallery,cosmic paintings are the only ones displayed on black walls. The subdued atmosphere of the room allows for total immersion in this journey to space.
Works full of life: how to represent movement?
First stage : acrylic paint. Then, she tackles the graphics, a step lasting several hours. The artist represents movement with rapid gestures and random shapes. Result : lots of curves and “explosions”. Introduced by white paint, it is also a play with light which makes the impression of movement possible.
Each painting is accompanied by a text, written by a childhood friend of the artist. Here again, Prisca Toulon Marie-Claire introduces the point of view of the other in his art.
For more information, you can visit the artist’s website: https://www.priscart.com/?lightbox=dataItem-ix7l6wbf1
