Camille Cottier’s newest solo series, A Quiet Storm, opened in the RHODES main gallery space on Friday, filling the walls with semi-abstracted bodies in states of support and rest.
Contrast is essential to the Paris-based artist’s work – whether that’s opposing colour schemes on each canvas, or flat planes of colour borders on deeply textured faces and bodies. Despite the tension running throughout the exhibition, Cottier’s series creates an atmosphere of interpersonal resilience in times of chaos, and the contrast in these pieces only works to reinforce this message.
A Quiet Storm marked a shift in colour palette for Cottier, who had previously stayed in the pastel-range for her paints. Here, however, while figures may be created from light pinks, yellows, and oranges, many of the details and backdrops are in dark blacks, angry reds, or deep, earthy greens. Not only interesting visually, but it also creates a feeling that each figure is created from different places, as though all the connections they’ve experienced have made them what they are today. This is seen especially in Stand, where, despite standing alone, the white, pink, green, and yellow features imply community and the invisible presence of others.
The physical presence of others also runs throughout this exhibition, inspired by Cottier’s experience as a mother, but taking this and expanding it beyond a purely maternal reading. Figures are depicted at rest but also awake, often with one seemingly protecting the more vulnerable other. In Loved in Chaos, the figure in the foreground is being physically supported by the person behind – one with their eyes closed, the other awake and alert. There is no sense of frustration in this support; instead, Cottier creates a sense that they support one another, and the tonal scheme implies community in a dark and stressful world.
Awake Until You Sleep contains a multitude of textures, both between the figures and the background. The resting body on the left is depicted in a light wash of green, layered over an underlayer of vivid orange that gently shines through. While the face contains detail in the shading, the rest of the body is one flat expanse. This is the opposite in the partner, whose body contains what looks almost like an entire sunset. Strokes of red, pink, yellow, and orange merge into a gradient from legs to neck, stopped only by one white arm and a contrasting dark green face. Both figures, either in their brushstrokes or the colour washes, contrast with the texture of the backdrop – flat and opaque, with one straight line of blue. Cottier’s skill in balancing texture within compositions results in works that are visually exciting, as well as narratively intriguing.
Finally, even the range of sizes in A Quiet Storm continues this exploration of Cottier’s. From Rest, at 33 x 46 cm, to A New Distance’s 114 x 162 cm size, the range demonstrates not only Cottier’s wide-reaching artistic ability, but also how a sense of rest, community, and support can be created both on a small, individual level and on a much larger one.
A Quiet Storm continues at RHODES until April 4. Email us for more information.
