Manon Steyaert is a painter of French origin, currently living and working in London; a graduate of Central St Martins (UAL), she has recently completed MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts. Steyaert’s rapidly developing practice deals with the deconstruction of the language of painting: bringing painting off the wall and the stretcher. Recent projects include solo exhibitions ‘Becoming Habits’ at Studi0 Gallery (St Moritz), ‘Noticing Colour’ at Annika Nuttall Gallery (Aarhus), and a residency with PADA Studios, Portugal in 2020.
Over the past two years, Steyaert has created a new body of work to investigate methods of layering colour and light, manipulation of unusual materials, and the possibilities of animating the painted surface with physical movement. Mixing and pouring silicone and latex and contrasting these with a host of other unconventional materials such as cellophane, Steyaert creates her own hues and surfaces to wrap around canvas stretchers or freestanding structures blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture. The viewer’s gaze is trapped within these richly pigmented and reflective surfaces, in an aesthetic dialogue both physical and emotional. Through subtle poetry of colour, Manon Steyaert articulates the aspirations and appetites of our eyes and minds.