A Quiet Storm: Camille Cottier
-
RHODES presents A Quiet Storm, a new body of work by French artist Camille Cottier.
In this series, Cottier extends her long-standing engagement with the human figure, moving toward more complex relational dynamics and a markedly deepened palette. While distortion remains a defining element of her practice, these works signal a shift toward themes of support, stability, and mutual reliance in moments of vulnerability.
Figures are depicted in states of pause and repose—reclining, leaning, or physically connected to one another. Bodies appear elongated and disproportionate, rendered in unnatural hues, yet their expressions remain calm and self-contained. The tension between bodily distortion and emotional composure produces a quiet equilibrium, allowing Cottier to hold physical instability alongside psychological stillness.
The palette in A Quiet Storm moves into darker, more saturated tonal ranges than in Cottier’s earlier work. These dense fields of colour—deep reds, greens, and blues—are punctuated by sharply contrasting highlights on noses, foreheads, and chins. These moments of brightness function as visual anchors, guiding the viewer’s gaze and introducing points of clarity within the intensity of the compositions.
Cottier’s recent experience of becoming a mother informs the conceptual direction of the series. Many works depict pairs of figures connected through touch, weight, and proximity—bodies resting against or holding one another. Rather than asserting individual identity, the paintings consider presence itself as a form of care, exploring how physical closeness can operate as a quiet, sustaining force.
While rooted in a personal moment, A Quiet Storm resists a literal maternal reading. Instead, the works open onto broader questions of intimacy, interdependence, and resilience, reflecting on what it means to move through uncertainty together. Through this shift in tone and palette, Cottier’s practice takes on greater intensity, shaped by an expanded understanding of connection and the ways we keep one another steady within an unstable world.
-
-
Selected works
-
-
Collecting
-
-
-
-
Subscribe →
Join our mailing list for updates about our artists, exhibitions, events, and more.
