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About Caroline Dechamby
Caroline Dechamby is a self-taught painter who was born in Utrecht, Netherlands. Leaving her home and country at a young age to learn French, she starts a fashion career in Paris. Soon after becoming a mother, her painting evolves from being a lifelong secret garden to a passion and a vocation. Her brushwork, eclectic in the beginning, takes shape and, little by little, the artist focuses on contemporary themes where colors, light and shapes take on a strong visual identity. She developed her own technique by fixing a Plexiglas on her oil on canvas with stainless steel screws. This unique and contemporary technique brings a surprising, conceptual and three-dimensional effect to her paintings. She represents her likeness on the Plexiglas, meditating in front of her artworks. This is how Caroline Dechamby’s fresh pop art style was born and all her works, which have reached private and institutional collections, are there to bear witness. She sells her artworks at her Maison d’Art, a three-story space designed like a concept store. Opened in 2006, the gallery is located on the most prestigious street of the famous ski resort town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Artist Statement
My art merges my passion for pure bright colors and light through a unique combination of canvas and Plexiglas. My artistic career started 25 years ago with hyper-realistic subjects before I began fixing a Plexiglas on my paintings. I wanted to bring my contribution to contemporary art with something that did not yet exist. Representing myself on the Plexiglas was a way of creating something new and unique. I paint my likeness, sometimes realistic, sometimes blending in with the canvas behind like a chameleon. Whatever the mean, my concept involves this woman who meditates while contemplating or painting the canvas. I have a feeling that, as long as you keep working, you can overcome any obstacle and find a solution for everything. Even if my likeness is dominant, you can never actually see my face. Identifying the person on the Plexiglas is not what matters here. I want everyone who looks at my paintings to actually feel what I feel by being able to enter in the same contemplation.
My medium of choice is oil. Used both on canvas and on Plexiglas, it allows the precision to render the hyper-realist representations. My subjects range from flowers, butterflies, pop art subjects and tribute to contemporary painters who inspired me. To sum up, I only paint positive things I like. Pop art subjects, through the representation of consumer goods in a disproportionate scale in comparison to my likeness, bring the humorous dimension I also seek. Works like my tributes to Piet Mondrian, Joan Mirò or Niki de Saint Phalle are a way of making the painters’ masterpiece go on living. I put myself in their shoes, and literally in their artistic overalls, to become one with their work.
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