fbpx
Menu
ART / PAINTING & ILLUSTRATION

Honest Intimacy: The Art of Hélène Delmaire

“I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.” -Vincent Van Gogh

Working out of her studio in the city of Lille, in Northern France, on the border with Belgium, Hélène Delmaire is an oil painter focused on both traditional techniques and pushing boundaries. At only 28 years old, Delmaire creates hypnotic work that plays with the notion of time in her paintings, tugging at light, fashion, symbolism and composition in intriguing ways.

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_01

She has a painterly style—brush strokes don’t bother her, globs of paint entice her, and seeing her process through the final work is an intimate way of exposing herself to the world. Her subjects often depict an area of fragility that is unique and realistic. Feminine and quiet, but full of a loud internal reckoning, Delmaire’s subjects lean toward the contemporary, but their lavish costumes and adornments often reflect a time long forgotten. Her signature style, however, involves her obsession with destruction: On top of a perfect beauty, with tens of hours spent creating this whole human, this soulful and melancholy female, she paints a thick and bold blast of energy running through the composition like a blade, cutting through the traditional beauty to reveal another side of color and complexity.

Delmaire, of course, is not bound to just one style, her work fluctuates from one technique to another, whatever is best suited for each piece. Her beings she creates, even in pieces, feel real and full of emotion and life. She says she wants to address the relationship between mankind and nature, and what can be seen of each, through one another. She is interest in the internal workings of the human condition; things that cannot be spoken but only may be understood as they are brushed upon through senses and intuitions.

Delmaire has shown throughout Europe including Russia, England, Italy and France with a small number of exhibitions within the United States. In 2012, Delmaire was the finalist for the East West Art Award in Pall Mall, London. Now, she is represented through a number of small galleries all over the world, including RAWsalt in Laguna Beach, CA and Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH.

Though she predominantly paints females and pieces of female bodies, her intimate pieces find the light and the dark in all of us, the fragility and vulnerability in simply living. They are strong, sensitive and a little angry—and inspire us to reflect and to dream.

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_02

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_03

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_04

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_05
helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_06

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_07

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_08

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_09

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_10

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_11

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_12

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_13

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_14

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_15

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_16

helenedelmaire_beautifulbizarre_17

About Author

Evan is the Editor-In-Chief of Inland Empire Weekly, Culture Magazine, Assistant Editor for YAY! LA Mag, and owns and operates the independent online art journal, Rogue Arts. She has an M.A. in Art History and is a Curator, Artist, Designer, Editor and Writer. She has contributed as an arts writer for KCET Artbound, OC Art Blog, OC Register, OCR Magazine, Artillery Magazine, Local Arts, Beauty & Wellness Magazine, Laika, Unite4:Good, and E-VOLVED Magazine. Past publications also include ArtScene, Juxtapoz, and Art Ltd.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE EMAIL LIST


This site is protected by reCaptcha and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.


Beautiful Bizarre will never supply your information to anyone else without your explicit permission - see our PRIVACY POLICY.

Join the Beautiful Bizarre email list

 

This site is protected by reCaptcha and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.


Beautiful Bizarre Magazine takes your privacy seriously, we will
never share your information without your express permission.

19K Shares
Tweet
Pin19K
Share
Share2