Figurative chalk drawing of flying bird silhouettes in retro colors on vintage collaged book pages
'An Organization of Birds' by Louise Laplante in 2022
chalk on vintage collaged cranberry cultivation manual pages
48 x 41 inches unframed, 52 x 45 inches in natural wood frame with non-glare plexi
Louise Laplante bridges the past and present with mixed media drawings made with figurative charcoal silhouettes juxtaposed on collaged sheets of vintage paper. Finding beauty in forgotten or discarded sheets of ephemera, Laplante uses it as a guide for playful compositions of stenciled birds in mid-flight, drifting feathers, or taxidermized deer heads in rich pastel. A final burst of wistful linework glides over the pastel forms, accentuating her subject’s movement while adding another layer of texture. In this particular work, the artist cleverly draws an organized formation of birds over an almanac of vintage pages of numerical data. A departure from her typical greyscale palette, the artist introduces retro shades of brick red, forest green, cadet blue, and mustard yellow. The vivid silhouettes of flying birds flutter in place and provide colorful contrast against a background of vintage papers. In certain segments the stenciled images are delicately brushed over with a thin wisp of chalk which adds a delicate textured effect to the drawing. The figurative chalk drawing is framed with a light wood frame and has non-glare plexi.
About the artist:
Interested in blending the old world with the new, mixed media artist Louise Laplante combines her original images with ephemera of the past, enticing a conversation about it’s “relevancy to the present.” Her compositions begin with vintage book pages, personal handwritten letters, sheet music, or instruction from old guides on etiquette or science. While the text itself is weighted with reference to a particular subject, the visual of the typed or handwritten words and printed illustrations establish a unique pattern. These layered backgrounds are superimposed with opaque charcoal drawings that are inspired by the themes read between the lines. Most recently, the artist has opted for larger scale work, combining multiple sheets of vintage paper to expand her unique motifs. Laplante exhibits across the Northeast and has shown with Carrie Haddad for more than ten years.
Artist Statement:
My work connects the texts, and ideas, in the vintage book, music or correspondence pages, with images those words evoke to comment on how the past still resonates, whether we are aware of it or not.
It is informed by my love for old paper, letters, books and images, both as reminders of the past and as bits of pattern, tone, line and shape. The text on them acts as both content and visual device. With each work, I select, arrange and collage these pieces creating both a support and pattern building on it with motifs that are suggested by words on the papers. Although I often start with an agenda I always allow each work to build its own image.
Artist Resume:
Education
MA in Fine Art, State University of New York at Albany, New York
BFA, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, New York
Studied, Art Institute of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts
Exhibitions
2019 Mediums of Exchange, Lehman College Art Gallery, Lehman College, CUNY, Bronx, New York
2018 Figures We Fancy, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
Shelter, A.P.E. Gallery, Northampton, Massachusetts
Material Flow: Rhythm in Collage and Sculpture, Pratt Gallery, Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont
2017 Abstractions in Black and White, Gallery 175 Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Blanche Ames National, Borderlands, North Easton, Massachusetts
Five Points Biennial, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, Connecticut
A Declaration of Sentiments: Reflections on the Centennial of Women’s Right to Vote in NYS, Athens
Cultural Center, Athens, New York
2016 Winter Exhibit, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
2015 Boston Biennial 4, Atlantic Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
Drawing, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
Taking Root: Caniskek and the Meeting of Two Worlds, Athens Cultural Center, Athens, New York
North Northeast, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro, Vermont
NBMMA 45th Exhibition, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut
2014 New Directions ’14, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Connecticut Women Artists – 85th National, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, Connecticut
New England Collective V, Galatea Fine Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Biennial 3, Atlantic Works Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts
2013 Storytellers and Conjurers, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
2012 Works on Paper, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
Drawing, b.j. spoke gallery, Huntington, New York
Strange Glue, Thompson Gallery, Weston, Massachusetts
Silhouette, A.P.E., Northampton, Massachusetts
The Cadence of Familiarity, Krauss Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
2011 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
Paperworks, Paper City Studios, Holyoke, Massachusetts
Small Works, Towne Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, Massachusetts
2010 Text/Context, McCoy Gallery, Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts
A Community of Artists, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, Massachusetts
Here and Gone: Presence, Absence, Memory and Time, Amy H. Carberry Fine Art Gallery,
Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield, Massachusetts
2009 Dreamscape, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
2008 Small ’08, Wunderarts Gallery, Amherst, Massachusetts
Interaction: Louise Laplante and Liz Chalfin, Wunderarts Gallery, Amherst Massachusetts
Artists and Books, Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, Massachusetts
One Night, Pivot Gallery, Florence, Massachusetts
2007 20 Artists X 2 Feet, Wunderarts Gallery, Amherst, Massachusetts
Biennial 2007, New Hampshire Art Institute, Manchester, New Hampshire
Salon, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, Massachusetts
2006 Small: 20 Artists X 2 Feet, Wunderarts Gallery, Amherst, Massachusetts
Salon, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, Massachusetts
2004 On Paper, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
Encaustics, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York
New Acquisitions, University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
2003
Hart Gallery...