French artist Anne-Christine Roda will be having her first exhibition in the United States at New York-based Arcadia Contemporary. Her representational portraiture is masterful, capturing all of the fundamentals of proper anatomy, value and color. But even with a skillful understanding of those principal elements in play, Roda’s artwork goes far beyond that. There’s an undeniable sense of emotion in her work, as though the artist is reaching deep into the souls of her subjects and inexplicably rendering them on canvas.
Le Fauteuil Rose, oil on canvas, 13¼ x 22½"The contemplative gazes of her models mirror the impossibly complex and multi-layered experience of being human. In En Dentelle, while the woman seems to be looking at a point “off camera,” when viewed at the right angle, it almost appears as though her eyes meet the viewer’s. It’s these moments of quiet, delicate intimacy that elevate Roda’s artwork into something bigger.
La Blouse Bleue, oil on canvas, 151⁄3 x 12¼"
Le Kimono Blanc, oil on wood, 6 x 41⁄3"“I’ve thought [a lot] about my paintings as a whole, with the guiding principle of never choosing moments that are too fixed [or] too perfectly staged, which in my opinion lose a little of their authenticity,” says Roda. “I always prefer moments in my posing sessions that are precisely not posed. I love the awkward position of a foot, the moment when models get dressed, the weariness at the end of a posing session. I’m always surprised by these moments that I haven’t premeditated and that only exist thanks to the magic of the moment between the model, me and what happens between us on that particular day.” Many of the paintings on view in the upcoming exhibition feature the artist’s daughter. Roda explains that she has always had a passion for the paintings of the Old Masters, admiring the ways in which they utilized all of the possibilities offered by oil paints. She then spent years trying to understand the way these masters painted in order to better create her own works.
“Understanding how to produce the maximum effect with the minimum means,” she adds. “I would never have the patience to paint the [most minute] detail, and that doesn’t interest me.” What does interest her is the effect it has on viewers.
En Dentelle, oil on canvas, 22½ x 15"
La Bague Verte, oil on canvas, 19 x 12½"
“I don’t want technical perfection to take precedence over the emotion in front of the painting, and for that you don’t have to paint ‘everything,’ just what’s useful to the story you’re telling,” says Roda. “I hope that viewers will be touched and moved by the sincerity of my models and the moment, not by the technique.”
Roda’s exhibition at Arcadia Contemporary will hang March 14 to March 31. —
Arcadia Contemporary 421 West Broadway • New York, NY 10012 (646) 861-3941 • www.arcadiacontemporary.com
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