Transparence et Distorsion NNBN, acrylic paint and gesso on acrylic panel

Artist Julie Trudel explores the limits of paint and pigment in her artistic practice. Producing works that are optical and geometric in appearance, Trudel plays with viscosity, color interactions, and paint thickness to carve out a new identity for colors and shades.

Croisements T22F1M, acrylic paint and gesso on Baltic birch plywood

I really enjoy the scientific approach that Trudel takes with her works. Instead of applying paint intuitively, the artist tends to work by imposing a set of arbitrary rules on her process before beginning a painting, methodically adhering to these rules throughout the process, while examining the effect that the guidelines have on the work in progress.

This very calculated approach, not to mention the cleanly patterned, almost mathematical aesthetic that it produces, makes me think of works by Amarie Bergman, J.D. Doria, or even Ryoji Ikeda. Trudel’s works vary significantly within a particular aesthetic sensibility – some are rounded, with wave-like blends of color, while others feature hard edges and digital-esque mapping.

Flaques 8, 13, et 3, acrylic paint, gesso, screen printing ink on Baltic birch plywood