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The dual images of creation and decay represented by the studio draw Wilde's reader into the very public battle waging over Aestheticism, the movement that adopted Wilde as its most prominent emblem and most notorious sinner.
Not surprisingly, few years prior to the publication of Dorian Gray, the little hamlet of Barbizon, on the edge of the forest of Fontainebleau, became the promised land for a group of French painters--Jean-François Millet, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau etc. who later came to know as the Barbizon school of painters--searching refuge form the insipid, mordant, decadent and aesthetic claustrophobia of Paris; this exodus signalled a departure from formalism--a 1824, Salon de Paris exhibition of the works of John Constable evidenced to be catalytic too -- and, with reverence and a conviction to reconnect with a source that resides within/out, a move to draw inspiration directly from Nature.
It is still in this light Erika Gagé - since 20 years in Barbizon - unbarred the doors of her Studio to you: you may not be a working artist...maybe you are trying to find form for your creative energies, or trying to use art-making to come closer to yourself...At her Studio, Erika provides a ground for experiencing the passion and working with the challenges of bearing those gifts that are uniquely your own.
The rounded-corner of the studio provides plenty of light and beautiful views of the garden.
A short walk across the garden will take you to Erika's Gallery which showcases her latest works, etching, watercolour and handcrafted collectibles for visitors to purchase.
If you are visiting France and planning to come to Barbizon--a Montmartre in the woods--come and see Erika’s Au Jardin des Arts, see her personal working environment, works in progress and visit the gallery with completed works, peruse, and perhaps purchase something exquisite, charming and charged with history to add to your collection or to live with. (You can pre-book for painting lessons and group visits of the studio) Permit yourself to stop and get enchanted in Barbizon.
Ebadur Rahman
Author, Critic
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Erika - the joy of painting.The artist’s enthusiasm and a luminous regard that catches everything around her with vivacity have remained unchanged for thirty years. A painter to the very depths of her soul, Erika lives for and through her art and, of course, loves life – an essential source of her creative spirit. It is impossible to confine this artist within a rigid classification. She remains ultimately free. Her
language bends to her aesthetic desires, which vary with her changing emotions. She can move easily from a personal representation to an abstract approach while always respecting her constant values: a solid construction, original composition, sure drawing and an interpretation of the subject where tradition is combined with independence.
Nature, flowers – essential parts of her life – and the discovery of people in her portraits and cityscapes of Paris form the varied themes of an oeuvre born of the love of painting with touches of joy, humour and a deep-seated thoughtfulness.
A radiant and omnipresent light inhabits each work, blurs contours or defines them by playing with shadow while the finely worked medium reveals a rich transparency. The artist gives us her intimate vision of the riverbanks of Paris, the fine old quayside houses and bridges that are reflected in the Seine with crystalline iridescence and creates a very real yet dreamlike atmosphere.
With a rare elegance of style, she suggests the sensuality of mysterious, enchanting and beautiful young women. Their delicate lace dresses unveil a delicate, mother-of-pearl nudity. And the flowers that form part of her daily universe are weaved into a symphony of exploding colour with dominant notes of reds and yellows. Again we have a privileged insight into her inner life.
Today Erika lives in the famous village of Barbizon, which is alive with the memory of great artists who came in quest of nature. Here she finds the calm she needs for her creative spirit and works in a historic workshop that she restored herself.
Nicole Lamothe
Art critic
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