Amber Lounder-Leger exhibits Cryptic Coloration at the Assumption Gallery

3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM

In March and April, the Assumption Gallery will host Cryptic Coloration, an exhibition of ten paintings by Amber Lounder-Leger. This will be the New Brunswick artist’s first showing at the Assumption Gallery.

The title Cryptic Coloration references the artist’s talent for harmonizing the coloration of her subjects with that of their environment. The result is a chameleon-type camouflage effect, a technique known as “monochromy”.

“I started painting at the age of 12,” says Amber. “My mother painted and I liked the idea of being able to create pictures. I studied fine arts for two years at Université de Moncton. I’ve been painting professionally for about twenty years now.”

Ms. Leger’s artistic approach has evolved in the wake of happy events and life’s little surprises, helped along by an element of planning. She has been influenced by impressionists and post-impressionists like Degas, Klimt and Lautrec, as well as contemporary artists like Kanevsky and Seville, whose favourite subjects were people, in particular women.

“I paint living things, and my inspirational energy is largely feminine. My creative flow moves from the outside in, meaning I imagine a link between what I am seeing and my inner self. I paint soulscapes,” explains the artist. Which is why her works elicit so much emotion.

The monochromatic colours of Ms. Leger’s paintings reflect the strength and fragility that co-exist in a sense of one’s mortality. She starts with photographs, which she interprets onto large canvasses, using acrylics superposed with oils to accentuate pigments and highlight contrasts. But her techniques are constantly changing.

“I try to understand people. My paintings combine my two passions: psychology and visual arts. I try to unlock the mystery of the person and the piece,” concludes the artist.

Amber Lounder-Leger was born in Grande-Digue, on New Brunswick’s east coast, where she still makes her home.

The Assumption Gallery exhibits contemporary, modern, and popular art, traditional and folk art as well as sculptures and photographs by professional Canadian artists. Six two-month exhibitions are presented every year. The Gallery is located at 770 Main Street in Moncton, on the ground floor of Assumption Place.

Information:
Emmanuelle Robinson, Communications Advisor Assumption Life
emmanuelle.robinson@assomption.ca