Sourire de Galatée #1 Painting

The work of Nathalie Lepine is understated, stripped of all excess. Each of her creations has its own special charm and yet each canvas forms an integral part of a consistent and coherent whole. Her unique and various figures are messengers, in the manner of a liturgical response in an antiphony. She uses a recurring theme of long-necked figures with equally long diaphanous faces. Their eyes, sketched in a few brush strokes, stare questioningly at the viewer. Some are reminded of Modigliani. However, unlike the variety of blank-eyed figures painted by the Italian master, Nathalie’s figures are always the same or similar, like a definitive revelation, staring straight ahead at the viewer as if waiting for an answer. This significant difference is reminiscent for me of a poem by Verlaine: “I often dream a strange and strangely haunting dream Of a woman I don’t know, who loves me, and I love And who, each time, is never quite the same And never quite another and she loves and understands me ...” The figure seems to be searching for an alter ego somewhere on the fringes of infinity.