From A Safe Distance
19 MAY 2021 - 09 JUNE 2021Notes
Manon Steyaert is an Artist of French origin, currently living and working in London; a graduate of Central St Martins (UAL), she has recently completed MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts. Steyaert’s rapidly developing practice deals with the deconstruction of the language of painting: bringing painting off the wall, and off the stretcher. Recent projects include solo exhibitions ‘Becoming Habits’ at Studi0 Gallery (St Moritz), ‘Noticing Colour’ at Annika Nuttall Gallery (Denmark), and a residency with PADA Studios, Portugal in 2020.
Over the past two years, Steyaert has created a new body of work to investigate methods of layering colour and light, manipulation of unusual materials, and the possibilities of animating the painted surface with physical movement. Mixing and pouring silicon, and contrasting this with a host of conventional and unconventional painting materials, Steyaert creates her own hues and surfaces to wrap around canvas stretchers or freestanding structures, blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture. The viewer’s gaze is trapped within these richly pigmented and reflective surfaces, in an aesthetic dialogue both physical and emotional.
Through a subtle poetry of colour, Manon Steyaert articulates the aspirations and appetites of our eyes and minds.
Accolades
Education: 2014 - 2015 – Foundation – Central Saint Martins. 2015 – 2018 – BA (Fine Art) – Central Saint Martins. 2018 – 2019 – MA (Fine Art) – Chelsea College of Arts
Awards: Clifford Chance Sculpture Award 2019 – Shortlisted. Back Room Open Call 2020 – Shortlisted, Dec exhibition. PADA artist residency, Portugal 03/08/2020 - 30/08/2020