Pascale Taurua Pour le Plaisir
Unapologetically emotional and feminist, Pascale Taurua flips the traditional roles of art and fashion to convey messages of empowerment, strength and sexuality in her work, which explores the complexities of life as a 21st century woman. The artist, known for her edgy and progressive figurative style, has built upon her usual bold aesthetic for her latest limited edition pieces, which she has embellished with gold leaf, conferring to them a unique sense of elegance and adding a new dimension to the pieces. The creation of the portraits took a considerable amount of time, usually requiring the artist to revisit each one several times. Pascale says: “I start each creation by drawing several faces, all of which correspond to a particular facial expression. This part is the most time-consuming and complicated because to choose between them is difficult; I have to really feel the sentiment of the idea to take pleasure in painting it. Once I have made my selection, I sketch in pencil, charcoal or oil. When I feel satisfied with the general form, I begin to paint with oils and then finish with the golden mask, which I apply with glue, one piece of gold leaf at a time.” There’s more to these pieces than first meets the eye, as the artist prides herself on the emotion she puts behind each piece. She says: “The idea for the gold leaf masks first came to me about two years ago. My son, Thomas Amaru, is a stylist and I saw him using gold on his men’s jackets and liked it a lot.
“The masks reflect the fact that in society we cannot be ourselves because there are codes to respect. I wanted to explore the idea that the face we are wearing is already a mask – a façade – and materialised this with a gold leaf mask that each portrait hides behind. Knowing that a large part of the expression of the face is created with the eyes and the eyebrows, while the mouth stays relatively neutral, I thought how better to deny people access to our vulnerability than to hide behind a mask.”
Cache Cache Hand Finished Canvas On Board With Gold Leaf | Edition of 50 Image Size 71cm x 91cm | Framed Size 85cm x 105cm £995 Framed
Up To The Sky (right) Hand Finished Canvas On Board With Gold Leaf | Edition of 50 Image Size 71cm x 91cm | Framed Size 85cm x 105cm £995 Framed
60 FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN2019
FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN2019 61
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