‍From the small mythical Venus figurines of the Paleolithic era to Éric Fischl’s provocative nudes, the human body has never ceased to fascinate both the eye and the mind of artists. Indeed, this theme is undoubtedly the most recurrent in the entire history of art. The galleries Linda Verge and Estampe Plus respectively present the recent work of two artists, Marc Paquet and Claude St-Jacques, who offer two very different ways of celebrating the body…

‍At Galerie Estampe Plus, Montreal artist Claude St-Jacques, exhibiting for the first time in a solo show in Quebec City, makes the body her primary theme. Like Paquet, she presents fragmented bodies and evokes through them the idea of sensuality. However, her approach takes us far from Paquet’s more descriptive and seductive manner.

‍Here, it is less the body itself than the idea of the body that is at stake. Cutting through the dark, earthy surfaces of the canvases, elongated masses emerge from the shadows, suggesting through subtle clues that they are nude bodies. These headless, almost asexual beings appear both imprisoned and caught in states of exaltation. One cannot tell whether they are victims in torment or figures in celebration, raising their arms toward the sky.

‍Under layers of paint, traces of writing can be discerned. In fact, St-Jacques often begins her works by inscribing words onto them. “I start from the idea that every body has a story,” she explains. In creating each work, St-Jacques seeks, beyond appearances, to bear witness to existences. In this process, the artist prefers to use her hands rather than a brush. Thus, she seems to engage in a hand-to-hand struggle with her canvases.

‍Accompanying the exhibition are two video clips showing the artist at work in a whirlwind of images and music, offering a vivid testimony of her process. Although the highly dynamic language of the clip does not entirely align with the more meditative character of St-Jacques’s paintings, it nevertheless allows the viewer to appreciate the painter’s original technique.