Maestro Arts is delighted to announce a solo show of works by Joan Dubique. The exhibition is a journey through the multi-faceted role of the grandmother; creator, ancestor, supporter, nurturer, protector, teacher, sage, storyteller and guide.

Joan Dubique was born in the fishing village of Castle Bruce on Dominica’s east coast. The vibrant colours and volatile weather of her native island, together with its striking blend of mountains, rivers and virgin forest, left a deep impression on young Joan. Her mature artworks draw from the rich natural imagery and feeling for the opposing elements of rain, wind and the sun’s light and heat that marked her childhood. “My desire to discover the world is immense,” she recalls. “With friends, I ran on dirt roads, among coconut and banana trees. This environment has nourished my appetite to be in constant contact with nature.”

At the age of 18, Dubique qualified to become an elementary school teacher. She looked to Canada to supply fresh experiences and considered relocating from her Caribbean home to study there; however, destiny directed Dubique to move to France with her future husband. Her new life unfolded with the birth of three daughters. Dubique thereafter devoted her time to the education and upbringing of her children until, in the mid-1990s, a visit to an exhibition of works by Paul Cézanne unlocked her “desire to paint”. Although she received basic instruction in the techniques of painting from a friend, she developed solid skills through tireless practice at home before taking drawing lessons in Nice. Dubique, who initially painted under the name Joan Vois, presented her first exhibition in Cabris on the French Riviera in 2003.

Dubique’s formative experiences of nature and her innate feeling for the inner world of emotions and subjective chain-reactions have strongly influenced the character of her paintings. “I usually paint what I see – the landscape that surrounds me,” she notes. “As a result my paintings are a reflection of my reality and my perspectives. My objective is not just to paint this tree or rock, but also to capture its true essence and understand its surrounding reality. Art is not a pure and simple aspect of the imagination. For the subject, viewed as it is, through observation, by means of study and reasoning, becomes the basis of all illustrations and expressions…. I try to grasp the immaterial, to portray the abstract and understand the way creation affects nature.”

The themes of departure, things, people, sound, wind, shadow, countless paths and stairs, the depth of the trees that make up the forest, are all subjects of artistic and spiritual meditation for Joan Dubique. “The incredible tenderness of the earth, the sweet and soft prickly leaves of young green conifers; the rigour of life that flows again over dead leaves and moss; the envelope of green which clings to rocks, even the rocky peaks, seem to bow to this kaleidoscope of green. And suddenly, dotted here and there, are shoots of gentian blue, old rose, mauve. Happiness is here!”

Joan Dubique’s work juxtaposes wild nature and reason, spirit and matter, meaning and form to draw the gaze away from dualisms to the contemplation of an abstract realm in which the subject and the paint become indistinguishable and intermingled. “And one lets oneself be surprised by this impulsive painting that makes sense.”