Women Artists’ Exhibit in Chelsea

Based on the East Coast, the Women Artists group was born from a friendship between women artists who wanted to share their art together through joint exhibitions. Women Artists from France to USA first launched in 2019, and their third exhibit, Itinerancy #03, opened today at VICTORI + MO gallery in Chelsea. The exhibition will last for two days, and visitors can make appointments on their website.

Itinerancy #03 was originally scheduled for May 2020, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. Carole Jury, Pascale Roux de Bézieux, and Gaëlle Hintzy-Marcel, three of the artists showing their work, were all present at the gallery and seemed excited to see the exhibition finally taking place. This group of women were caring, bright, and full of joie de vivre. As they welcomed us at the gallery, the first thing we noticed was how passionate they are about their work. Keeping a positive spirit between each artist is very important to this group of women, and they carefully select who they want to work with to ensure a supportive atmosphere.

This quality exhibition gathers abstract paintings from Carole Jury, poetic sculptures from Gaëlle Hintzy-Marcel, pictures from Pascale Roux de Bézieux, and pastels from Marine Futin. They made this exhibition possible through personal funding and an investment of their own time.

Carole Jury co-founded the group Women Artists From France To USA. With other women, she wanted to reverse the usual process of galleries picking artists. Instead, she wanted the artists to gather together to create their own exhibition. It’s a challenge, but the energy that animates them seems to have no limit.

Talented and complementary in their arts, these four women convey through their pieces how they experienced the lockdown.

Pascale Roux de Bézieux took pictures of some New York City rooftops, showing how people have reappropriated space for themselves. From her Upper East Side apartment, she captured a dad playing curling with his son, two girls in bikinis chatting together, and people clapping in support of the medical staff and playing games on their rooftops. She started by sending pictures to a group of friends, who ended up asking up for more pictures. From her courses in photography grammar at the International Center of Photography, she learned how to tell a story through pictures. And that is exactly what her exhibit is: Beautiful pictures showing how people adapted their lifestyle through the quarantine. Getting up on the rooftops instead of down in the streets. She captures this new life in a place that previously was deserted.

Carole Jury is an abstract painter living in Princeton, New Jersey. During the quarantine, she was very moved by a young girl, Mia, who was very sick at the time. She decided to dedicate to her a series of paintings which she called “Colorful with Mia”. This series, made of red, orange, and white, is, like its name, very colorful. It was inspired by Mia’s smile. Carole also painted a rose each week and sent these paintings to Mia, virtually. She also has a series of blue paintings. “Never Forget” Series was born in memory of the famous exhibition by Christian Boltanski at Le Grand Palais Paris, ten years ago. “I had been completely fascinated by the strength of this exhibition and how the artist brought to light the Jewish memories.” Carole said. She reproduced the cases that Jewish people had to leave their clothes in at the concentration camp. She created many little boxes in her paintings, in which she hopes people will project their own reflections. Each case is a space for someone we love, who we lost and are thinking about. The viewer makes the paintings their own. Her final series “Dark Sea”, started four years ago, is inspired by Pierre Soulage. All in black color, she takes inspiration from real elements which she reproduces by sculpting the paint on the canvas, giving an incredible three-dimensional texture to her paintings. 

Gaëlle Hintzy-Marcel is the sculptor of the group. Her statues show emotions and movements. The position of the body is linked to the emotions of its character. If one of the characters on her statues has low shoulders, it’s on purpose, evoking insecurity or unhappiness. Gaelle mostly works with bronze, but she has also been trying other materials during the quarantine. For example, her statue made of plaster, resin, and wood which stands in the backyard of the gallery. Full of poetry, slender and elegant, her sculptures are graceful and a delight to see.

Marine Futin was the only artist who wasn’t at the gallery in person, because she just gave birth to a little girl. Through her pastels, Marine explores the word “femininity.” She paints and draws moments of life, “simple, assumed, and assured.” Her work is an ode to the feminine universe, focusing on sensual shapes. Marine is a multi-faceted artist, as she also sings, composes, and plays music.

Though the pandemic is certainly not over, it’s wonderful to see what creativity these dark times inspired. This exhibit provides a much-needed reflection on our shared quarantine experiences through the brilliant artwork of these four women.