Hypnotic reflections 4 - Stella de Belligny

Review of the painting Hypnotic Reflections 4 by Stella de Belligny

An aesthetic poised between minimalism and texture: The painting, measuring 148 x 116 cm, explores a subtle dialogue between matter and light, chaos and balance. Through a mixed media technique combining acrylics, pigments, and inks, the artist offers a vision where abstraction flirts with landscape, inviting the viewer to deep and introspective contemplation. From the first glance, the canvas captivates with its structuring horizon, this textured black line that fractures the pictorial space into two distinct entities: an azure sky, ethereal and diffuse, contrasting with a strip of land marked by a raw and organic application of materials. The cracked, almost mineral texture suggests a land in flux, a shoreline fractured by time and the elements. The reflection in the lower section extends this tension between stillness and movement, between solidity and fluidity.

Structured Chaos: Influences and Resonances: The influence of Pierre Soulages is felt in the relationship to matter and the interplay of light, although Stella de Belligny departs from this by introducing a broader chromatic palette. Where Soulages makes darkness a reflective material, she introduces a more open chromatic vibration, playing with pigment dilution and transparencies. Her approach seems to be part of a search for rhythm and natural forces, a work that resonates with the theories of chaos she espouses. There is a tension between chance and control: matter unfolds with a spontaneity that initially appears anarchic, then gradually structures itself into a balanced composition. This dynamic recalls the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, where imperfection and the passage of time become intrinsic elements of beauty.

A sensory immersion: reflections and perceptions: The title Hypnotic Reflections 4 takes on its full meaning here. The viewer's eye oscillates between reality and illusion, carried along by these plays of reflections that deconstruct space. The watery impression, amplified by the transparencies and the fusion of colors, invites a sensory immersion. The resonance between sky and ground creates a visual loop, an echo between the elements, reinforcing this sensation of infinity and floating. The artist sets up an experience of active contemplation: each glance at the canvas rediscovers a new variation of textures, a new path of light. The choice of a black wood frame emphasizes this depth, refocusing the gaze on the essential.

An art of transformation: Stella de Belligny situates her work within an environmental and existential reflection. Erosion, transformation, and the influence of time and the elements are omnipresent in her work, conveying a vision of a world where everything is in perpetual motion. This notion of constant change is also integrated into her artistic practice, where she continually explores new techniques and lighting.

This painting is an invitation to let oneself be absorbed, to accept the indeterminate, and to immerse oneself in a fluctuating perception of reality. It is a work that does not reveal itself immediately, but demands a dialogue with the viewer, a patience to grasp its nuances.