JOSÉE DALLAIRE - Download PDF here

Josée Dallaire's central theme is women. Dismayed by the excessive exploitation of  the image of the woman in mass media as seen in video clips and magazines, the artist decided to gear her production towards a representation where sensuality and seduction are put forth in a more subtle and interiorized manner. In this sense, the faces of her subjects rarely look directly at the viewer and thus preserve some intimacy.

Her compositions are collages of different materials. The female figure is often drawn in graphite and depicted in an abstract world created by the layering of different human and animal figures obtained by using the technique of image transfer onto canvas. This composition is supported by the very subtle and nuanced color obtained using relatively neutral and generally transparent Japanese papers mounted on the canvas. For the artist, these papers are like skins that we touch and that act like veils because of the layering and their diaphanous effect.

Dallaire recurrently inserts five geometric figures: the circle, the square, the triangle, the cross, and the spiral. The artist chose these forms after studying the Signs of Life, a book by the anthropologist Angeles Arrien who states that these five figures embody universal symbols at the bias of human psychology for all civilizations and cultures. Consequently, by using these forms, the artist attempts to give a universal context to the understanding of her work and the message that it contains.

Josée Dallaire is an enthusiastic artist who associates artistic creation with the simplest daily acts of her life. In addition, the physical space in which she works often resembles the aesthetic space of her art works. A powerful feminist, Dallaire offers us her moving view of women in a spirit that tends to transcend prejudices and fads.