Hélène Moccelin. The artist who brings vivid illusions to life through her paintings
Hélène Moccelin not only paints, she also recreates her dreams. By embracing uncertainty and reflection, she creates soft yet textured irregular surfaces with intriguing gaps. Her work encourages dialogue between the spectator and the artwork, inviting the encounter with the unpredictable. It is the magic of abstract composition that forces you to create your own narrative inside the painting.
At MAG the Women Gallery, we are excited to share more about the process of her artworks and the captivating collection on exhibit at our gallery.
Back to basics: The reencounter with nature
After spending several years in the city, she returned to nature so her youngest son could grow up immersed in it. During this time, she reconnected with the natural environment, capturing images with her analog camera as she walked her dog through the woods and along the river.
“I take photos, lots of photos, with all kinds of cameras – a mobile phone, a broken mobile phone, disposable cameras, cameras that are lent to me…” – Hélène Moccelin
It all starts with simple landscape photographs that capture the essence of an entire winter. These images serve as the primary inspiration and central theme of her latest series, currently on display at MAG the Women Gallery.
A dark, captivating paradise that evokes mystery:
Traversée par le paysage 1 (2019) Author: Hélène Moccelin
Like nature, her photography draws viewers into moments of reflection, silence and solitude, while also occasionally leading to unexpected and healing encounters.
To complete the experience, a dark, minimalist composition plays with the tension between interior and exterior spaces, light and darkness. It encourages introspection, as if the viewer is looking out from an enclosed, shadowy space into a tranquil, open world beyond.
The layers of texture and paint add a sense of depth and time, as if the viewer is contemplating a forgotten or abandoned place. Her painting evokes feelings of loneliness and reflection, and the window serves as a metaphor for perspective or escape.
Creating sensations through materials:
This series opens a dialogue with the unknown and the unpredictable, evoking sensations in the viewer by using a mixed technique with a wide variety of materials. Hélène Moccelin creates the haunting sensation of having touched the contours of pain.
L’Asención (2019) Author: Hélène Moccelin
Her works, created using mixed techniques, are like a wound; the paint becomes the suture, a delicate detail. A single color draws attention to the heart of the work, like a heart bleeding inside. The meaning slips into the realm of the imagination, leaving behind only the sensation of having brushed the contours of pain.
This creates a delicate yet uncertain reflection, with colors that brim both dark and luminous on the surface, spreading a soft, textured feeling of emptiness and hollowness.
This is how one recognizes a dream: through material, texture, and the delicacy of a veil that persistently reveals what it conceals. Like a ghost emerging from a barely sketched landscape, it fades into a dense forest. These ghosts seem to be silent witnesses to an invisible story. The deeper one delves into the image, the thicker the mystery grows.
Explore her captivating world and her collection of blue shades and mistery at MAG the women gallery.
Find more about the artist here.
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