Michele van de roer
Encyclopedia
Michèle Van de Roer is a contemporary French artist: a painter, designer, photographer, and engraver. She studied formally at the École d'Arts de Valence, Pratt Institute of Design in New York, and École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage in Versailles
. Van de Roer currently works at the Fondation La Ruche in Montparnasse, Paris and is also an Adjunct Professor of landscape design at École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage.
, was endlessly fascinating to her. Encouraged by her father, she studied and practiced drafting throughout her childhood.
From 1977 through 1980 she attended the École d'Arts de Valence and was a student of artist Pierre Buraglio and Jacques Clerc, her instructor for advanced etching techniques. Jacques Clerc, an artist, sculptor and publisher, subsequently asked her to create etchings for the limited edition L'Automne Écorché Vif for his publishing imprint, Éditions La Sétèrée. Additionally, at École d'Arts de Valence she was also a student of noted contemporary artist Pierre Soulages
. During 1980–81 she completed her undergraduate studies in art history at the University of Grenoble.
In 1982 Van de Roer received a Fulbright Scholarship and used the financial support to pursue, and to complete in 1983, a fine arts masters program at the Pratt Institute of Design in Brooklyn, New York. During this postgraduate education at Pratt in 1982-3, she was selected by a jury to show in the "Architecture in Contemporary Prints" show at Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York along with Robert Rauschenberg
and Christo. In 2003—06 she attended a postgraduate program, and graduated from, the École National Supérieure du Paysage in Versailles, seeing landscape design as another form of artistic expression. She followed this post graduate program with an internship at the international landscape design firm of Gustafson-Porter in London in 2006.
in Paris, the de facto or artistic home in Montparnasse of artists such as Marc Chagall
, Fernand Léger
, Chaim Soutine
, Amedeo Modigliani
, Constantin Brâncuşi
, and Diego Rivera
among others. In 2009 she was one of the featured La Ruche 'artists of today' in an exhibition at the Palais Lumière in Evian entitled, . In 2010 she delivered a presentation at El Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City on Rivera's possible contributions to the evolution of the art of his peers at La Ruche and on his contemporary Pablo Picasso.
in Paris. The subject of the piece is Rodin's Thinker. The first of the twelve pieces is opaque, followed by an image with the barest of light revealing the knee and part of the leg of the recumbent Thinker. Each of her succeeding images adds step-by-step gradations of light to reveal more and more of the anatomy, until at last the entire figure is evident. In essence, the figure to her is merely a concept or a complete abstraction without light and/or the absence of light, as suggested by Kazimir Malevich
in his famous 1915 canvas Black Square.
Some of her best received oils produced to date demonstrating the same vision are her semi abstract landscapes, notably as in her TGV pieces, that convey rapid motion through the countryside, a blurring of reality. Van de Roer argues that as 16th and 17th century Dutch artists were inspired by the local development of optics that produced new insight into very small or very distant objects, she is inspired by the perspective of light in motion. She admits to a fascination with Jan Micker's 16th century Bird's Eye View of Amsterdam showing the shadow of dispersed clouds as they drift over the city.
Essentially, she is captivated by light, the absence of light, and the bending of light and imagery through motion – as in her photo etching series entitled Dessiner Avec La Lune. To create this series, Van de Roer used a full moon as a photographic ‘brush’ and the night sky as her ‘canvas’ to produce a haunting abstraction. While much of her work is less abstract, the theme of light and motion are constant in all of her creations.
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. Van de Roer currently works at the Fondation La Ruche in Montparnasse, Paris and is also an Adjunct Professor of landscape design at École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage.
Early biography
The daughter of an architect in Delft, Michèle Van de Roer demonstrated an early fascination with perspective as she sat at draftsman's tables in her father's studio. Starting at age five she began to draw freehand landscapes of the surrounding countryside, manifesting a remarkable ability to portray depth and to capture shadow and light with a sophistication that both surprised and impressed her father. The same Dutch scenery with its neat, tree lined geometric shapes that had inspired 17th century masters such as Vermeer and then modern artists such as Piet MondrianPiet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
, was endlessly fascinating to her. Encouraged by her father, she studied and practiced drafting throughout her childhood.
Training
As she matured Van de Roer studied the techniques of old masters and then began to experiment with other media and various techniques. She began to study photography and etching. She moved permanently to France in 1976 and studied etching at Lacourière Frelaut under the tutelage of Jacques Frelaut, the master printer of Picasso, Chagall and Léger.From 1977 through 1980 she attended the École d'Arts de Valence and was a student of artist Pierre Buraglio and Jacques Clerc, her instructor for advanced etching techniques. Jacques Clerc, an artist, sculptor and publisher, subsequently asked her to create etchings for the limited edition L'Automne Écorché Vif for his publishing imprint, Éditions La Sétèrée. Additionally, at École d'Arts de Valence she was also a student of noted contemporary artist Pierre Soulages
Pierre Soulages
Pierre Soulages is a French painter, engraver, and sculptor.-Biography:Born in Rodez in 1919, Soulages also is known as "the painter of black" because of his interest in the colour, "...both a colour and a non-colour. When light is reflected on black, it transforms and transmutes it. It opens up...
. During 1980–81 she completed her undergraduate studies in art history at the University of Grenoble.
In 1982 Van de Roer received a Fulbright Scholarship and used the financial support to pursue, and to complete in 1983, a fine arts masters program at the Pratt Institute of Design in Brooklyn, New York. During this postgraduate education at Pratt in 1982-3, she was selected by a jury to show in the "Architecture in Contemporary Prints" show at Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York along with Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
and Christo. In 2003—06 she attended a postgraduate program, and graduated from, the École National Supérieure du Paysage in Versailles, seeing landscape design as another form of artistic expression. She followed this post graduate program with an internship at the international landscape design firm of Gustafson-Porter in London in 2006.
La Ruche
In 2008 Van de Roer was awarded a position as an artist-in-residence at La RucheLa Ruche
La Ruche is an artist's residence at the Paris South-Western outskirts.Located in the "Passage Dantzig," in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, La Ruche was an old three-storey circular structure that got its name because it looked more like a large beehive than any dwelling for humans...
in Paris, the de facto or artistic home in Montparnasse of artists such as Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
, Chaim Soutine
Chaim Soutine
Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish painter from Belarus. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris....
, Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
, Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
, and Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
among others. In 2009 she was one of the featured La Ruche 'artists of today' in an exhibition at the Palais Lumière in Evian entitled, . In 2010 she delivered a presentation at El Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City on Rivera's possible contributions to the evolution of the art of his peers at La Ruche and on his contemporary Pablo Picasso.
Shows
The first significant show of Van de Roer's work was in 1983 in New York entitled Architecture in the Contemporary Print at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, along with Robert Rauschenberg and Christo. The show featured one of her large engravings, Eva's Magic World. Subsequently her work has been displayed at group and solo shows in numerous venues: Galerie Brun Léglise, Paris; Gallery Kunstplus, Rotterdam; John Szoke Gallery, New York; Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Exposition de Gravures; Galerie Global Art Source, Zurich; City of Evian; Centre Culturel de Corbevoie, and in the Fernelmont Contemporary Art Show.Artistic vision
Van de Roer's philosophy on art is perhaps best represented in her etching series entitled De La Journée à la Nuit: Du Blanc au Noir-de-Noir au Blanc which was purchased by the Musée RodinMusée Rodin
The Musée Rodin in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds. It displays works by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin....
in Paris. The subject of the piece is Rodin's Thinker. The first of the twelve pieces is opaque, followed by an image with the barest of light revealing the knee and part of the leg of the recumbent Thinker. Each of her succeeding images adds step-by-step gradations of light to reveal more and more of the anatomy, until at last the entire figure is evident. In essence, the figure to her is merely a concept or a complete abstraction without light and/or the absence of light, as suggested by Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
in his famous 1915 canvas Black Square.
Some of her best received oils produced to date demonstrating the same vision are her semi abstract landscapes, notably as in her TGV pieces, that convey rapid motion through the countryside, a blurring of reality. Van de Roer argues that as 16th and 17th century Dutch artists were inspired by the local development of optics that produced new insight into very small or very distant objects, she is inspired by the perspective of light in motion. She admits to a fascination with Jan Micker's 16th century Bird's Eye View of Amsterdam showing the shadow of dispersed clouds as they drift over the city.
Essentially, she is captivated by light, the absence of light, and the bending of light and imagery through motion – as in her photo etching series entitled Dessiner Avec La Lune. To create this series, Van de Roer used a full moon as a photographic ‘brush’ and the night sky as her ‘canvas’ to produce a haunting abstraction. While much of her work is less abstract, the theme of light and motion are constant in all of her creations.
Publications
- Le Jardin de Rodin – Éditions Fischbacher, Paris, 1995
- L'Automne Écorché Vif – Éditions La Sétèrée Crest, 1998
External links
- Pierre Buraglio
- Pierre Soulages
- Pratt Institute of Design
- École National du Paysage
- Gustafson Porter
- La RucheLa RucheLa Ruche is an artist's residence at the Paris South-Western outskirts.Located in the "Passage Dantzig," in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, La Ruche was an old three-storey circular structure that got its name because it looked more like a large beehive than any dwelling for humans...
- Galerie Brun Léglise
- Musée Rodin
- Fernelmont Contemporary Art Show
- Kazimir MalevichKazimir MalevichKazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...