La Cage éclairer le gris 2022

Sandra Chevrier made "La Cage éclairer le gris" with paint, and collage, probably in her studio, but who knows, maybe outside, maybe with music. It’s got these bold, bright colors—yellow, blues, and reds—layered with drips and comic book fragments. I imagine Chevrier in a charged state of mind, tearing the paper, gluing it down, letting the paint run, almost like she’s wrestling with different identities, emotions, or the fragmented self. The eyes! They are so intense, peering out from behind these abstract veils, but what do they see? There’s something so immediate and raw about the way she’s put the painting together. It reminds me of the way Guston used to build up layers of meaning in his paintings, with clumsy, heavy strokes and comic-like figuration, and how he turned his back on beauty, or what was considered ‘good taste’. What connects them I guess is a will to disrupt the canvas. Like the best painting, it’s an ongoing conversation, a dialogue across time, inspiring each other’s creativity.