Danielle Desplan

Scratched, engraved, drawn, painted, glued, written, waxed, pieces of paper...as if they were samples of life, crumbs of recomposed moments, layers of memories. I use painting as a medium to translate impressions, emotions and memories into a visual format. The techniques involved are based on the superimposition of several layers of painting/collages. An acrylic image may serve as the initial background, then, several layers of collaged fragments are added producing a three-dimensional effect - incorporating textured handmade papers, pieces from old books, wall paper, printed elements, old letters, calligraphy from XIXth century archives, etc., to create a distinctive, antiquarian appearance. The original image has thus been reformulated along with the collage elements and is integrated into a singular work of art; combining several techniques and media such as pastel, watercolor and printmaking. The final effect is that of a delicately burnished and finely weathered patina. Drawn upon the past, the artwork is a magical interplay of the formal and the symbolic, antiquity and present, time and place, while creating a personal genre of modern fresco.