Statement
For several years now the work of French artist Caty Lévêque has been about capturing immediate life around her, its hidden meaning and secret connections; a kind of “diary and observation” in painting in which words, text and poetry play also an important role.
Living in a village in the south of France, then in the Netherlands and now in Scotland has allowed her to meet different cultures and also to realise that observing life through a new language and with a foreigner’s eye was unlocking new potential, altering her perceptions, her behavior, her way of communicating and thus her art.
In 2006 from her studio in the red light district of The Hague she worked on an ”absurd illustration” of the learning of a new language, a consideration of its impact on the perception of the self, of the sense of innocence, awkwardness and daring it can give you. Her “Dutch Diary” includes as well her observation on this world of prostitutes underneath her atelier window, rubbing shoulders in the same street with the great philosopher Spinoza whose house was at the end of the street.
In 2008 she moved to Scotland where she had to adapt herself to a new and different setting.
She quickly developed a special bond with this country and, with the Scottish landscape tradition in mind, using a modern approach she resolved to mix, landscapes, drawings and self penned texts in English.