Canadian artist Joanne Gauthier was born in Trois-Rivières, Québec in 1962. Gauthier studied Decorative Arts at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières and then received her Bachelor’s Degree at the Université du Québec de Trois-Rivières in 1987. From 1989 to 1997, she taught drawing and painting in the municipality of St-Augustin-de-Desmaures. To date, Gauthier has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in galleries found across Canada.
The artist is distinguished for her unique textual, stained glass effect which is achieved through a combination of acrylic, watercolour, oil paint and varnish. The application of copper, silver, and gold leaf provides the finishing touch on Gauthier's paintings, highlighting the curvilinear designs of her engraved images. The juxtaposition of colours, often radiant reds and deep blues, as well as the floral patterns and arabesques, lend her work to a personalized flavor of emotion spirit and creative current that overcomes the stillness of the image. Gauthier is inspired by nature, women’s rights and passions to “open up the path of the soul”. With brilliant colours, emotional tenor and lyrical image, Gauthier achieves a stunning visual symphony of inner reflection and outer harmony.
