EXPO - Stills of Life XL: - Ontdek de virtuele expo hier.

The expo from 28 oktober until 8 november 2020: Gallerie Rivierenhof Antwerpen is cancelled due COVID19. Discover the virtual expo here.

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Nicole S. Pousset (°1964, pseudonym of Nicole Schellekens) is an artist from Mortsel, Belgium. Her great-grandfather, Jean Jacques Pousset, was a fine-art painter. The tragic American bombardment of Mortsel on April 5th, 1943 destroyed almost his entire body of work. Nicole S. Pousset goes by his name as a tribute.

Nicole S. completed her secondary education in 1982 at the Kunsthumaniora (Art school) Sint-Lucas in Antwerp. She then studied Applied Graphics at the School of Arts. Nicole S. graduated summa cum laude and won the jury prize for practical subjects. She becomes Art Director at advertising agency de Kie in Beveren and subsequently works at De Visscher and Van Nevel in Ghent. Nicole S. excels in developing story boards and roughs. Her focus is on hyperrealistic drawings to be used in advertising. As a full time, free-lance graphic designer, Nicole S. works for such distinguished companies and publishing houses as IBM, Côte d’Or, BP Chemicals, Stagg and Lassie rice. While she enjoys her graphic designer career, she longs to create her own work. In 2008, she wins first prize at the Week of Amateur Art (Week van de Amateurkunsten, WAK).

Themes in her work

Overwhelming nature fills Pousset with awe. Climate change and its disastrous effects and contemporary man’s estrangement from nature are subjects close to her heart. Nicole S. is fascinated by humanity. She paints portraits to capture not only the soul, but also the smallness and loneliness. She is amazed at the mundane, the unexpected. Much like a photographer, she captures those moments like a film still. You are a silent witness of contemplative people engaged in the mundane and the unexpected. Rarely do they look directly at the viewer. Nothing is posed, everything is unexpected. Spontaneity is her anchor.

Pousset’s art is never crude, never loud. You will always find a soft, feminine and intimate undertone. Her portraits and landscapes are poetic and carry a hopeful, positive message. Something beautiful is just around the corner, somewhere in the future. It is up to the viewer to fill in the blanks. ‘Out of the Blue’ emphasizes the upwards motion from negativity and depression towards positivity and hope; towards a better future.

A recurring theme is the window. We look over the shoulder of a persona and are witness to their story. The viewer is drawn into a stanger’s life as their own thoughts and feelings intertwine with the image.

Pousset’s art offers an oasis to the hurried man. He is invited to stand still, observe and reflect.

Use of colour and technique

Nicole S. enjoys working with acrylic and aquarelle. She loves the spontaneity of these techniques. One is forced to focus and observe well, making mistakes inadmissible. As of 2018. Nicole S. prefers oil painting. This technique provides new possibilities. She is constantly searching for the essence of the image and tries to achieve the optimal result with as few strokes as possible. Usually, she works alla prima; a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. Nicole S. uses specific colours to identify particular periods. This is how different series are created. In 2018 and 2019, a hint of green is applied in the background in all of her work. In 2010, she experiments with warmer colours.

Marianne Beert

Tentoonstellingen

•Kasteel Schoten: 3 werken in een groepsexpo georganiseerd door het WAK. 1st price award - 2009
•De Kunstenfabriek: 3 works n een groepsexpo georganiseerd door de stad Mortsel, May 2019.

•Out of the blue : Solo exhibition: Oud Loodswezen Antwerpen - 21 tot 23 juni 2019

• Expo 167: several works in group exposition, organised by myself, Kloosterstraat Antwerp, May-June 2019

•STILLS of life: 19 tot 25 november 2019 : Conscienceplein 20 Antwerpen

•COMFORT for the Soul: 23 juli - 2 augustus : Conscienceplein 20 Antwerpen

•Humbled By nature: 1-30 oktober 2020 Coveliersstraat 6, 2600 Antwerpen: Uitgesteld wegens Corona

•Paradise Lost: OLV Kathedraal Antwerpen : oktober 2020 - Februari 2021 - Uitgesteld wegens Corona

•Stills of life XL: 28 oktober tot 8 november 2020 : Gallerie Rivierenhof Antwerpen

Deze expo is helaas gecanceld door de recentste Covid-19 maatregelen. We hebben er een virtuele versie van gemaakt. Bekijk het hier.