Artist Statement
My work is inspired by the relationship between modernity and femininity. I’m interested in the formal properties of an image, its shape and colour.
Through my monotypes, I explore the relationship between people and the spaces they occupy, be it clothing, interiors, or objects of design.
I’m inspired by the process of reduction, paring down objects to their essential form.
In one instance, a detailed jacket may become a block of colour; in another, a still life is broken down to a composition of geometric shapes.
The idea of reduction stems from my appreciation of Japanese woodblock prints, their muted tonalities and restrained compositions.
I respond to negative space and how it accentuates the irregular contours of my monotype transfer.
For me, the act of printmaking – reducing an image to colour and a set of shapes – provides a mental clarity, a state of mind that is essential to the process.
Bio
BA in English Literature, Univ. of Victoria
Associates Degree, Parsons School of Design
BFA, Emily Carr University
MA in Expressive Arts, Saas-Fee Switzerland
Currently lives and works in Vancouver
Instagram: _ren_gouin
Through my monotypes, I explore the relationship between people and the spaces they occupy, be it clothing, interiors, or objects of design.
I’m inspired by the process of reduction, paring down objects to their essential form.
In one instance, a detailed jacket may become a block of colour; in another, a still life is broken down to a composition of geometric shapes.
The idea of reduction stems from my appreciation of Japanese woodblock prints, their muted tonalities and restrained compositions.
I respond to negative space and how it accentuates the irregular contours of my monotype transfer.
For me, the act of printmaking – reducing an image to colour and a set of shapes – provides a mental clarity, a state of mind that is essential to the process.