Frédérique Ulman-Gagné presents Ces murs qui protègent, an exhibition featuring new series of abstract paintings on canvas and paper. The works reflect her daily intimate experience of her studio and the creative process it nurtures.

Under the latent threat of losing the workspace she has occupied for twelve years, Ulman-Gagné has, over the past year, revisited old works. Stored in her studio, these pieces now embrace its architecture, light, and shadows. With introspective mise-en-abyme, the artist integrates the space into the artwork, blending the spiritual with the pictorial.

Within the physical and emotional refuge of the studio, the noise of daily violence, experienced both personally and socially, fades away. Here, silence reveals the reactions of bodies affected by turmoil. Created around symbols of protection like nets, braids, and cords that tie and untie, the artist’s vibrant paintings function like icons—representations of sacred figures that are both works of art and objects of worship.

Through the visual narratives she constructs, Frédérique Ulman-Gagné opens, in Ces murs qui protègent, a window offering a view into possibilities tinged with revolt.

Text by Janick Burn