Philia Painting

STATEMENT I use the abstract language of color, form, and shape to explore the beautiful, elusive, and transient aspects of life around me. Inspired by nature, travel, meditation, and music, my goal is to visually communicate emotive states that are often hard to put into words. As a painter I work instinctively. Using brushes, spatulas, and sponges to coat on, knife off, and wash away, I create compositions layered with fields of color, gestural lines, and unexpected marks. Each piece morphs and transforms through equal parts spontaneity and structure. For me, painting is the continual experience of exploring the ineffable and bringing it into some kind of material form. __ BIO Michele de la Menardiere is an abstract painter of French and Chinese descent. Born in Washington, DC, she received her degree from Chelsea College of Art in London, England and now lives in San Francisco, CA. Michele’s paintings are part of numerous private and public collections including the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies Program, the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, Nokia, One Medical, and Westin Hotels. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post and KQED’s Check Please! Bay Area. Her paintings are also part of several public art installations in the Washington metropolitan area.