Nearly two years in the making, Krab Jab Studio in Seattle has reached across the world to bring you the best of mythical beauty. Their latest exhibition, Brittany to Cascadia, draws on the ancient home of the Celts in Brittany, France, successfully luring some of its most talented modern day artists across the seas and into their doors. Featuring the work of Alice Dufeu, Yoann Lossel, Olivier Villoingt, Bastien Lecouffe Deharme, Virginie Ropars and David Thiérrée, prepare to get lost in history and myth.

Brittany to Cascadia

Exhibition Dates:

14 February – 6 March 2015

Krab Jab Studio

5628 Airport Way S, Ste 150

Seattle, WA  98108

For more information, please contact the gallery directly.

Alice Dufeu – It is hard not be enchanted by Alice’s delicate creatures. Deeply inspired by the forest, her works in Brittany to Cascadia display some of the rich, fantastical life that hides just out of our sight. Strange and sometimes dark, Alice bring acrylic to life, wholly influenced by the forest of Brocéliande where she grew up.

Slice of Light

Metamorphosis

Fluffy Style

Yoann Lossel and Olivier Villoingt have joined forces to produce their new book project, Eclipse – The Forgotten Veil. Many of the pieces shown at Krab Jab Studio are from their latest project, bringing the spirit of Man and Nature together. With a grandeur to contest royalty, Yoann’s paintings portray strength and depth, resonating an echo of pre-Raphaelite beauty and dark myth. Using mixed medias, graphite and golf leaf, Yoann’s work are unmistakable creations.

Olivier Villoingt’s use of graphite and oils provide a breathtaking journey through illustrious fantasy. His works invite you to make your own story to go alongside each piece. In his own words: ‘In my work, I’ve always wanted to play with this “Time” factor and create a certain atmosphere suitable to the loss of bearings… I don’t feel like to “freeze’ my pictures in some given time or period, but on the contrary, I want to give to the viewers the freedom to imagine their own idea of “when” my picture could occur: because there are as many times as ways to perceive them. I took the opportunity of working on this exhibition to explore a bit more of this [concept of] timelessness.’

The Gathering – Space

The Gathering – Time

Her

The Offering

Sail to the Moon

Bastien Lecouffe Deharme brings an echo of Arthurian legend to his digital paintings and pencil of paper illustrations displayed in Brittany to Cascadia. True to his usual style, his works brood in strength and mystical beauty: ‘When walking in “Le Val sans Retour” and the Brocéliande forest,’ Bastien muses, ‘I used to think about Morgane young and beautiful and those broken, tired, lost knights who sacrificed their souls for her love.’ His desire to story tell, enriched with historical and mythical influences, can strongly affect the emotions of we as the viewer; We can become actively involved, relating to each characters’ strengths and weaknesses, whilst staying unaffected by the reality that they may live in a fictional land.

The Impaled Queen

The Impaled Queen Study

The Queen of Misfortune

As the only sculptress in the exhibit, Virginie Ropars displays her sculptures replicating the very best in mystical creatures. Inspired by true to life cultures and mythology, Virginie amalgamates the historical, the religious and the mythical, giving birth to creatures representing a dozen lifetimes. ‘For this show, I gathered some organic colors and shapes, and I wrapped them with the traces myths and legends tend to leave in my mind.’ explains Virginie, ‘Those traces can be faded a lot, which makes them even more interesting. I mixed those remaining feelings with my eerie inner world. Most of those works talks about what is hidden and what can be hidden in nature. Nature as a weird haven. As usual in my work I only give a glimpse at what could be, and leave the story to your imagination.
A work that needs some explanations though, is the piece entitled “Wyrd”. Wyrd is a concept in anglo-saxon culture corresponding to fate or personal destiny. It is connected to the Norse mythology, and personalized by one of the three Norns, nammed Urdr, meaning ‘that which has come to pass’. Norns “decided on the lives of the children of time” and weave fate of humans. Wyrd has been considered as a pre-Christian Germanic goddess of fate by some scholars. Her decrees “change all the world beneath the heavens”. Apparently, in Old English wyrd is a verbal noun formed from the verb weorþan, meaning ‘to come to pass, to become’. The term developed into the modern English adjective weird.’

Wyrd

Smoke

Miel Noir

Deeply inspired by the small village he grew up in, David Thiérrée nourished his connection to nature that grew its roots within him from birth, bringing audiences mesmerizingly intricate artworks adored by all. Just like the abundance of wildlife surrounding his childhood, David’s creations produce a complex visual ambrosia filled with symbolism. His compulsion to draw and create art stemmed from a young age, cultivating over the years to become the well recognized pieces that Krab Jab exhibits today.

Morrigan

Enchantress II

Enchantress III