Claire Tabouret’s figurative works put identity under the microscope and place particular emphasis on an examination of childhood and its enigmatic nature, as well as the notion of the individual, whether by themselves or within a group. At the forefront of her images, almost frozen in time, are the figures of women and children, their faces emotionless, and their images sometimes disguised or transfigured, covered. Her work exists in an alternate reality that sits outside of our temporality. Tabouret’s evocative landscapes are almost carnivalesque in nature. Her large-scale canvases often begin with a primary fluorescent layer, and then she employs tones that oscillate between darkness and acidity. There is theatricality to her work. Prior to her figurative painting, of both individual figures and groups, reminiscent of Romantic painting, Tabouret’s work was concentrated on diurnal aquatic scenes and nocturnal landscapes. Frequently referencing photographs from the internet or archival images, she imbues her canvases with personal experience, stories, and memories, creating a rich world around her images. ...
