Shay Hewett Fine Art Gallery: The Sixth Sense Expo
On Saturday, October 8th, I visited Shay Hewett Fine Art Gallery to peek over The Sixth Sense. It was all over Instagram, so I couldn't miss out on their inaugural expo. It was an incredible experience thanks to the great host Jamie with whom I shared so much about the various paintings, and how they made us feel. It was a great moment where our interpretations and perceptions of each artwork met halfway.
The Sixth Sense bears its name well. It was an invitation to build a bond with each painting using our sensory responses and emotions. It was a beautiful voyage, scattered with an avalanche of striking colours, intrinsic textures and a panoply of forms and styles. Thanks to the impressive line-up of artists: Gaël Froget, Cathy Abraham, Sera Holland, Paul Senyol, Cat Spilman, Michael Taylor, Jean-Luc Almond, Céline Le Vieux and Emma Nourse for making the show interesting from every angle.
GAËL FROGET
Gaël Froget is a talented Mauritian artist who has outgrown our little Island. His style is bold. An eclectic eruption of his imagination stirred with a sensitivity out of our comprehension. I love how in a painting, subtle details await in the background to be discovered. They could be in a frame of its own. Sometimes it's a word or phrase that accompanies a gesture or drawing. SOLEY, EYE, Dan Ki lame mo lamour... It takes more than a glance to decode the complexity of his art.
When I look at his drawings: Giraffe and Normo, I feel that a bucket of generosity was poured on the canvas and each inch represents a catalyst for change.
Close-up of my fav details on the canvas
To connect with his art, check out his Instagram here @gaelfroget
CATHY ABRAHAM
The paintings from Cathy Abraham looks nothing like I've seen before. Intricate mystery. It drives me into a meditative state. How did she found her own style? These brush stroke repetition feels like heart beats on canvas. It feels fragile but strong at the same time. I wonder if Cathy Abraham creates these brushstrokes under a specific rhythm and what if the rhythm breaks? So, many questions pop up in my mind at the sight of her creations. I'd love to see her work process one day.
Her systematic and constant repetitive gesture is her signature. Cathy Abraham refers to her brush strokes as "ghosts."
Cathy Abraham once said: " This ‘ghosting’ serves as a reminder of the consequences of the marks made in this world through actions as well as an expression of intergenerational trauma as a haunting force. "
Cathy's body of work is stunning. As long as she keeps counting, I will keep drooling over these patterns of repetition, colorful ghosts with various characters. She works with numbers in a time-based performative way. I love how through the sequence of brush strokes, the colours lose its vivid tint until the repetition repeats again.
Cathy Abraham lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Discover more about her journey and work through her website: Cathy Abraham and on instagram: @cathyjaneabraham.
SERA HOLLAND
Through Sera Holland's art, we can feel her special relationship with nature, flowers, the sun, the sky and the land. Her palette scallops are my favs. I love how she assembles the colours together to create unity. I feel they represent parcels of her souvenirs and it's amazing to witness these little blessings.
"Pamplemousses Palms (Palette Scallop)" was inspired by the exquisite Palm Trees at Pamplemousses Garden in Mauritius. This is a lovely wink to our Island.
I wonder how long it takes to make a palette Scallop. It's a beautiful puzzle of petals I wish I could pick up - one by one... but only in my dreams.
Follow @seraholland! I love how she shares exclusive snippets of her artwork on her Instagram.
CÉLINE LE VIEUX
Céline Le Vieux crafts landscapes with an eye for detail, worthy of a cinematographic scene. Time stands still. How I wish, I could get lost in her painting "Sweven" - which means dream, vision. Will you join me in this escapade?
Beauty always lies in simplicity. I love how the classical DNA of her artwork has this charming undertone.
Keep an eye on her work @celine.levieux.
PAUL SENYOL
Paul Senyol's art stirred my inner child. It was a scream from the past where childhood souvenirs creeped out of town. The times when my creativity was running wild. The scribbles on the neat canvas were a nice journey down memory lane. It felt like a kid passed by and stole a few crayons to leave his or her mark behind. I did it, years ago on my mom's white walls. But in anyways, looked as good as the ones signed - Paul Senyol.
I love how Paul Senyol makes use of abstracts to tell us an everyday story filled with colours that speak the same language. If you look closely at his paintings, his flair for art brings to life, landscapes, shapes, lines and its load of surprises... A lot of his artwork is inspired by his surroundings. That's how he transforms the mundane into the extraordinary with his authentic brush stroke.
These details are a wink at my childhood
The first painting: "The Tree Outside Our Window"
The Second painting: "Under Observation"
The Third painting: "Selective Hearing"
The fourth painting: "Composition Study 006"
It feels like his organic style happens accidentally.
Paul Senyol is an artist and painter born in the 1980s with several arcs to his cord. Let his art speak to you via Instagram: @paul_senyol
CAT SPILMAN
Cat Spilman's paintings feel like pain and hope on Canvas. Contemporary art where bold shapes were left hanging on a monochrome background. It's always black and white - and nothing in between. It's light in the dark, chaos and order, dancing the waltz. Her abstract paintings leave you in unexplored territories. Send me the GPS to navigate through her magnificent world of art.
The first painting: "Closer"
The second painting: "Favorite Things"
The third painting: "Fancy People"
Cat Spilman is an American artist currently residing in the UK. She explores sensitive topics like separation, belonging, motherhood and feminism with a touch of grace. Step into her world - made up of abstracts. Join her community on Instagram: @catannedunlea and explore her website: Catherine Spilman Fine Art.
MICHAEL TAYLOR
These vivid colours are my medicine. A shipwrecked while the sun sets. The rays mirror hope we hold tight inside. The colour spectrum smile at each other. If there was a time machine, I would go back a few hours when the sun was shining brightly to watch the scene unfold to where it is now. I wonder which prophecy lies behind the Fortune Cookie. Is it luck or fate? I guess this will remain a whole mystery time and time again.
I love how each brush stroke on the canvas feels like 100g of feathers on the shoulders.
Scandi Ballet is a beautiful mess I wish I could get lost in while braving the tides of life.
Midnight Twins gives me chills up the spine. The duality of these two colours melts in the mind. His paintings leave a mark that reminds me to add a splash of colours when the world turns blind.
Support Micheal Taylor's work on social media by sharing his artwork. Connect with him via Instagram: @michaeltaylorstudio
JEAN-LUC ALMOND
I've got a real crush on Jean-Luc Almond's paintings, style, portraits, "deprived" facial features and colours. His artworks have a special flavour, a sense of mystery where you're invited to delve in slowly. Who is hiding behind these blurred facial expressions, smudged with paints and a wave of emotions? I'd like to think that Jean-Luc Almond hides their faces to give us room to perceive his artwork through our own lenses.
Cascade is my favourite of the whole expo. It got my neurons entangled like dancing the tango.
Jean-Luc Almond is a British artist whose artwork gives me goosebumps each time my eyes capture the underlined sensitivity. Some of his paintings could be a scene captured in a horror movie, while bathed in an ocean of colours. His art speaks to me in different languages.
Dark Head VII has its kind of mystery. Depending on the angles, new features pop up as a warm hello in winter.
Have a peek at Jean-Luc Almond's paintings on his website it's worth the detour! You can also connect with him on Instagram @jeanluc.almond
EMMA NOURSE
Emma Nourse's artworks bought a sweet melody, a subtle one in the Sixth Sense expo. I could hear birds chirping. I mean, it strongly felt like it. The atmosphere was peaceful and poetic - like a little picnic in a cottage during spring. Her paintings are so distinctive. She created her own little world where oil meets silk.
Emma Nourse's imprint is delicate.
Join @emmanourse_art where she exhibits her artworks that bloom in every season.
This is how I felt about the paintings in the Sixth Sense Expo. It was such an amazing experience. I hope you catch a chance to stop by Shay Hewett Fine Art Gallery for their next Expo to create your own experiences...to be continued.
Thanks for reading!