LA COMMUNE VUE PAR RENÉ SHOEMAKER
(select images to enlarge)
OUR COMMUNITY INTERPRETED BY RENÉ SHOEMAKER
By Robert Guinot
Just one year after having an exhibition here, René Shoemaker has returned to the Felletin City Hall. The American artist, who lives in the commune of Saint Maixant, is this time sharing here the discovery of Felletin and its villages. She presents a selection of paintings on silk that represent a year’s work.*
Artistic Stroll around Felletin
René Shoemaker walked past Pont Roby to the Chatueau d’Arfeuille, then to the library. She went up Rue de Beaumont, climbed to the summit of the bell tower to experience a panoramic view of the town and the countryside. She studied the engraved inscriptions in stone buildings. Her journey is displayed in blue and green. She plays with the horizon line and sometimes departs, deliberately, from reality. Her exhibition delivers her perceptions of Felletin and its surroundings, from Arfeuille to Lavaud and to La Croix-Blanche. Her work has developed into a body of work that is dear to her, between poetry and naivety, with great attention to line and color choice, all with a very personal style. It is understood that the artist and her husband, who live here 1/2 the year in the Creuse, often leaves Saint-Maixant for Felletin where René is fascinated with the countryside and the monuments, where she observes the houses and architectural details. Her wandering journey inspires her paintings on silk, designs that are between figurative and abstraction, which is always elegant and personal. Her chromatic range is limited, contributing to the uniformity of the exhibition, that is, both understated and joyful.