Dominique Goupil

January 15 – February 10, 2010

Studio 21 Fine Art is very pleased to announce a new exhibition of paintings by Dominque Goupil – a Montreal-based artist – who has previously shown in group exhibitions at the gallery.

Goupil’s work challenges the norms of landscape painting.  The basic elements are all there – the horizon line, the atmosphere – but they are stripped down, and intuitive in nature.  The rich but subtle monochromatic colour palette is blurred to the point of abstraction and the works constitute more of an ambiguous memory of a landscape than a realistic portrayal of the subject matter. Says Goupil, regarding her paintings:

“They offer a trail towards the idea of landscape paintings, freed from the literal interpretation of the landscape. They depict a memory of scenery, via emotions and thoughts.”

Adding to the richness of her paintings, she allows the warm cedar wood of her grounds to show through in places, contrasting the cool bluish-gray of her scenes. The deep canvases pull away from the wall, just as they pull away from the usual codes of landscape.

Born in 1970, Dominique Goupil lives and works in Montreal. She launched her professional career in 1997 after receiving a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts from UQAM.  She has taken part in over fifteen exhibitions in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, New York and Morges (Switzerland).  Her paintings are found in many private and corporate collections.