Following studies in graphic design and architecture, followed by a meteoric career in advertising, Louise Jolicoeur develops, as a self-taught artist, pictorial and sculptural practices that would bring her unexpected recognition. Early influenced by the artistic production of her paternal grandmother from Outaouais, the artist inherits from her the signature Jolic under which she is now better known. It is through the sensitivity of this ancestor that Louise learns to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the materials around her, from the veining of pebbles to the undulations of the landscape. Thanks to her talent, determination, and passion, Jolic has now become an internationally renowned artist who has been accumulating awards and honorable mentions for years, notably from the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA), Artfinder in the United Kingdom, and the Circle Foundation for the Arts, to name a few. Her work is notably represented by the Beauchamp Galleries in Toronto, Quebec, Baie-St-Paul, and Montreal.
For her, art is a relationship with her feelings that she instinctively materializes according to her emotions. Sensible to the affect of the senses, she communions entirely with the fertility of her imagination, the breath of the wind, the migration of birds, the light of the sky, and the monumental presence of the trees that reign supreme in the beautiful countryside surrounding her studio in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge.
Generally painted in the "manière noire" style, on a dark base canvas, her paintings emerge in the soothing silence that the artist enjoys surrounding herself with. Instinctively, she then activates her brushes, spatulas, and cloths to give birth to a composition that always bears the direct trace of her hands to ensure a fluid and natural gesture. It is thus, in an intimate complicity between the work and its creator, that the canvas finds its fulfillment, stroke after stroke. Knowing when to stop, detach, recognize the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment in front of a harmonious structure rich enough without overdoing it, remains the challenge to which the painter commits herself.
Her large-format abstract works, with an expressionist allure, are suave, full of undulations reminiscent of vital energies. Strong in their contrasts and a curious sense of timeless balance, they suggest serenity and grace through the sought-after and restricted chromatic harmonies. Although generally executed on a dark background, each of them is enhanced with violet, turquoise, or golden pigments which, through their chiaroscuro effects, completely dissolve the tragic aspect of such a background. Each time, conscientious focal points are positioned within the work, creating visual resting areas elsewhere that adequately serve to declutter the reading. Regularly, crackling medium creates a textured rendering of fascinating richness, making her paintings as interesting to contemplate from a distance as in close proximity.
In her vast retreat located at the foot of the cliff, the artist allows herself to use the swing installed in her workspace where, before starting any work, she lifts her feet off the ground to abandon the Cartesian side and tune into creative intuition.
(Text credit: Sylvie Coutu M.A., Art Historian, Cultural Mediator, MCCQ Regional Expert)