Against a backdrop of anxiety, procrastination and suffering, Anais Prouzet’s powerful works explore – in halos, body positions and the depth of shadows – a gesture that is irrevocably oriented towards a meditation with the subject. They subscribe to the idea that “strength must be frozen in the subject” and that substance lies in the inalienable love of loved ones. Indeed, Anais Prouzet’s artistic approach challenges the notion of “for life” by affirming that happiness and melancholy ultimately go hand in hand. She also reminds us that the artist’s favourite tools are charcoal, graphite and pencil.
The viewer will appreciate these works revealing a visceral approach that began with electroshock visions and then gradually blossomed into the deployment and revelation of the possibilities of color. We particularly like these faces taken as witnesses of life – without apology of cruelty – and these merciless canvases bringing out the beauty of the living without trying to idealize an ordinary reality. But also this strength of the lived moments, in a representation of the enigma via the measure of the artist who was once his own model.
Anais Prouzet was born in Grasse in 1992. She lives and works near Avignon, South of France.
