La Cage, laisse moi te raconter un rêve. 2022

Sandra Chevrier made this painting, La Cage, laisse moi te raconter un rêve, using oil paint and collage. She’s clearly interested in the process of layering and juxtaposition. Look at the woman's face, rendered with such precision and realism, disrupted by these torn comic book fragments. The surface is alive with contrasts; the smooth, almost photographic quality of the skin against the graphic pop of the comic strips. The artist's hand is evident in the delicate blending of tones in the face, especially around the eyes. But it’s the collage that grabs me. The jagged edges of the comic book pieces create a visual tension, like a mask that both conceals and reveals. You can see a fragment of batman in there. It makes me think of artists like Hannah Höch, who used collage to critique and reimagine representations of women. Chevrier seems to be doing something similar here, questioning the roles and expectations placed on women in contemporary culture. It’s complex, like a beautiful dream.