Renée Gouin

Loving these monotypes created by Vancouver-based artist and printmaker, Renée Gouin.  She studied visual art, design and literature in British Columbia, New York and Switzerland.  In her biography and in La Collectionneuse she says this about her art:

“I’m inspired by the process of reduction, paring down objects to their essential form”.

“The idea of reduction stems from my appreciation of Japanese woodblock prints, their muted tonalities and restrained compositions.”

“I see the process of reduction being less about abstraction and more about creating clarity and harmony between the essential formal elements: shape, colour, and composition. The negative space is really important in my images. It accentuates the subjects within the space and their relationship with one another. By pairing down the compositional elements, the aesthetic experience is more immediate and direct.”


More of her work can be viewed on her website and on Instagram.

Images:  Courtesy of Renée Gouin. 

Mary Ellen Solt (1920-2007)

Concrete poetry is poetry whose visual appearance matches the topic of the poem.  Mary Ellen Solt began writing concrete poetry in the 60’s and became a leader of this movement.  Her work was most notably poems in the shape of flowers such as “Forsythia”, “Lilac” and “Geranium”. Her visual poetry formed by letters and words has influenced many of todays’s typography designs.  Her book, “Concrete Poetry: A World View“, can be read on ubu.com.

Javier de Riba

Javier de Riba spray paints bright, geometric patterns on cement floors of public spaces.  The Barcelona-based designer and artist works with paints, stencils, roller brushes and volunteers from his workshop to create these beautiful tiled patterns. He says this about his work on Impakter:

“My interest for patterns comes from historical traditions. At the end of the 19th century, hydraulic mosaic factories began to appear in the Catalan countries. Many homes here, in Catalunya, feature this type of tile, and I have lived with them all my life. I wanted to revive this tradition, put it into light and on the street, with a modern touch.”

You can view more of his work on his website, Behance and Instagram.

Images:  Courtesy of Javier de Riba.

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