SAYS JUBBI FRANCIS

French-born Australian artist Christine Maudy embodies the very adage "art has no boundaries." Maudy was born in Paris and she began her artistic career as a fashion designer and she started concentrating on painting only after moving to Queensland with her husband in 1995.

Over the last 20 years, Maudy has travelled extensively all across Africa, Asia and Europe. A truly contemporary artist, Maudy has explored major cultural, political and ecological issues and believes that it is an artist's duty to contribute towards raising awareness.

A journey to Africa in 1989 changed her life. It had a profound influence on her work, and for the first time she had the feeling of being connected to the land. The experiences gained through these travels, helped Maudy in developing a unique perspective about art.

Maudy doesn't believe in imitating reality in her works. She is committed to abstraction. She relies on colour and texture as a means of expressing her feelings and to make things visible. "For me painting is an act translating my feelings, thoughts and memories. I like to see beyond the image. I try to capture the emotion of the moment. I use colours, abstract marks and linear structure as a universal language," Maudy said.

"When I travel the lasting memories of a journey in a country, whether they are cultural or visual, always translate for me in the colours. I incorporate, in the process, details extracted from landscapes, walls, objects, transposing them in geometrical shapes, lines, scratches, brush marks and movements," she added. Trained to be a private pilot, Maudy has developed a sky vision that is reflected in her interpretation of landscape.

Maudy's love for experimentation is evident from her works. One can see the use of a wide variety of mixed materials including pigment, Chinese paper and sand. Her paintings often start with a layer of collage, sand and impasto before developing the work with layers of intermixed colours in acrylic, oil, glazing and gold leaf.

Maudy held her first solo exhibition in Noosa in 2001, a beautiful little town on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Since then she has had both solo and group exhibitions in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Australia.

Maudy is represented in significant public and corporate as well as private collections around the world. She has also been the recipient of a number of art awards, both within Australia and internationally. She is permanently represented in Madrid, Hong Kong, Montreal, Toronto, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Maudy will be exhibiting her paintings in Dubai at the Mondo Art Gallery located in Mall of the Emirates, between Nov.8 and Dec.6. Mondo Art Gallery, in conjunction with The Australian Trade Commission have been pivotal in bringing Maudy's works to this part of the Arab World. The gallery has been in the forefront of promoting modern, contemporary art from all over the world.

As a preview to her exhibition, Maudy spoke to Time Out about her ideas, inspiration and plans. Excerpts:

What inspired you to become an artist?

I was always attracted to art and started my artistic career in Paris as a fashion designer. My father used to work in the fashion industry. The creative process was the same, just a different technique and a different way of expressing myself and translating the way I think and feel.

Moving to Australia 11 years ago was a much-needed change of life, as I wished to paint full-time. A studio within my house was part of my dream. I was suddenly free of my time, free of the stress of living in a big city. I could at last concentrate solely on painting.

Which artists have influenced you and how?

Mark Rothko and Willem De Kooning are the two artists, who have influenced me a lot. I have a passion for Rothko's work. His use of colour, the diffused light and soft, immaterial gradations of his paintings give me a sense of timelessness. The surface of his paintings shines and radiates, transmitting positive energy. Simplicity, harmony and strength.

On the opposite, De Kooning's powerful gestural images shake me like a storm would do. His use of colour is some times challenging. His dense, evocative paintings convey so much strength and emotions you cannot help to stop, look and feel. They both gave me the love of abstract art and the desire to invite the viewer to slow down, to be fully present in the moment.

Could you tell us more about your paintings? Which collection would you be bringing to the Dubai exhibition?

My art is a lot about expressing ideas and feelings and to establish a connection with the viewer through colours, shapes, texture. My canvases are a mix of purely formal elements and potential narrative.

I construct my paintings carefully focusing on the visual qualities of shape and space, texture and light, free from the constraints of real world objectivity in search for the perfect balance between colour, texture gesture and movement. Clearly separated forms co-exist with fluidity, a combination of floating and solidity.

I have chosen five of my works which illustrate my style and my technique.

Which colour do you use the most in your works? Any particular reason?

I use quite an extensive palette of colours. It depends on the subject I am working on and my aim. I use sometimes strong earthy colours and look for contrast, at other times I have an obsession for very light colours and can play with different hues of white for days and days.

Who is your greatest critic? How do you take criticism?

My daughters and my husband's feedback is always important to me but it won't affect my feeling for a work. When I am not sure about a painting I start again. I appreciate the professional comments of curators, agents and the gallery director I am working with. The public's eye is important too. As an artist without public is like an empty house.

How would you explain the progress made by the artist in you?

My work is greatly involved with subjectivity and emotions. Each piece is a personal journey, an introspective diary. I translate my memories and feelings in lines, scratches, shapes and colours on my canvases. Every gesture is significant and meaningful. Momentary gestures, layers of colour and textured surfaces become a map of the emotions.

How do you see the woman and the artist in you?

My work is greatly involved with subjectivity and emotions. I think that a painting reflects on the "soul" of the artist. My feminity has an influence on my perception of the world and on my way of translating it.

Do you believe in perfectionism? Are you a perfectionist?

Yes, I am a perfectionist and I think there is always something better to look forward.

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

Because of my background as a fashion designer and then as manager of a PR company I have a professional way of dealing with galleries and clients. I have the luck to have the support of my husband, Jacques, who has a background in marketing and helps me in managing the business side of my practice.

Could you tell us more about your latest series of paintings and what you are trying to achieve through them?

My latest body of work is entitled "Impressions de voyage" and was inspired by my recent travels to Spain, India and Italy. Traces of places once visited and of colours seen evolve as an introspective diary of history, times and places.

How does the audience respond to your works?

I love meetings with the audience when I have a show and I am always amazed by the strength of the connection some people feel in front of my works. I get regularly -- through my website -- comments on my paintings from art lovers, buyers, curators and other artists. I have a strong support in Australia and in Spain, where I exhibit regularly. I have been showing my work in Hong Kong and recently in Canada, where I am now represented in Toronto. I am represented in private and corporate collections in all of these countries.

Have you held an exhibition in Dubai before? What do you think of this city?

This is my first exhibition in Dubai. I visited Dubai briefly two years ago on my way to Europe and was amazed by the diversity of architecture, the contrast of the most stunning skyscrapers which stand alongside the mosques and wind towers of Old Dubai and the multicultural and very tolerant population.

What are your plans?

I am passionate about my work and put a lot of energy not only into my paintings but in the way I plan my career. I need the stimulation of a new goal and when I reach it I have to set a new one.

In five years I had some 14 solos and 50 group exhibitions. My next scheduled exhibitions are the "Australian Fest" in Toronto organised by the Australian Trade Commission, "Changing Nature" with Greenpeace in Sydney in November. Then next year I will show in October 2007 at Catherine Asquith Gallery in Melbourne and in June 2008 for the 3rd time at Catarsis Gallery in Madrid.

I would love to be permanently represented by a gallery or an agent in Dubai and will come to the opening to meet the public and potential partner galleries.