X NATACHA MANKOWSKI - ARTIST RESIDENCY

« AN ARTIST THAT WORKS IN PIGMENTS AND MINERALS, EARTHS AND THE FIBRES OF LIFE. ANARTIST WHO « FASHIONS » HER MATERIALS – AN ALCHEMIST OF PASTES, COMPOUNDS, BINDERS AND SOLUTIONS IMBUED WITH COLOUR, MATERIALITY, STRUCTURE AND TEXTURE THAT SHE APPLIES WITH PHYSICALITY TO PAPER AND CANVAS.

SHE CAME TO THE PRIEURÉ D’ORSAN, MY HOME, MY GARDENS AND ITS LAND. SHE WANDERED AND OBSERVED, SLEPT AND DIVINED, AND IMMERSED HERSELF IN THE HISTORY AND SOUL OF THIS PLACE. BY DAY SHE SKETCHED AND GROUND HER PIGMENTS AND SKETCHED SOME MORE.

THE IMPRESSION SHE MADE ON ME WHILE HERE? ONE OF CONTRADICTION – A SENSITIVE, SERENE AND SUBDUED BEING CAPABLE OF POWERFUL GESTURES, CREATING WORKS OF SUBSTANCE, CORPORALITY AND CONCRETENESS.

WITHIN THESE PAGES, YOU WILL DISCOVER THE FRUITS OF HER WORK AND OF HER TIME HERE, AT ORSAN. »

« A THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE US, A GARDEN EMERGED FROM THIS BERRICHON LAND. TODAY, AN ENGLISHMAN HAS MADE IT HIS HOME. A HOME OF LINES, OF VINES, OF PEAR TREES AND ROSES.

WHEN HE OPENS THE DOOR OF HIS PARIS STUDIO TO ME, I DON’T YET KNOW THAT SOON HE WILL HAND ME THE KEYS — THE KEYS TO HIS STORY, HIS VISION, HIS KINGDOM.

GARETH OFFERS ME EVERYTHING, SHOWS ME EVERYTHING, AND EXPLAINS EVERYTHING. I LISTEN AND OBSERVE.

IN HIS BOUNDLESS GENEROSITY, I SENSE AN IMMENSE FREEDOM — ONE THAT FASCINATES.

IN THE GARDEN, IN THE STUDIO, HE OPENS DOORS FOR ME, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, INTO WORLDS OF MATERIALS, TEXTURES, COLORS, AND THE EXCELLENCE OF CRAFT. WITH A YOUTHFUL, TIRELESS ENERGY, SLEEVES ROLLED UP, HE IS ALWAYS AT WORK.

HE SCULPTS FABRIC INTO LIGHTNESS. EVERYTHING SEEMS SIMPLE, EFFORTLESSLY COMPLETE — ALWAYS A LITTLE CREASED, THEN LAID DOWN, AS IF BY CHANCE.

BUT UP CLOSE, EVERYTHING REVEALS ITSELF AS EXQUISITELY THOUGHT OUT, THEN CAREFULLY CREATED.

I SEE IN IT THE MARK OF DEEP RESPECT. RESPECT FOR THE MATERIAL, BUT ALSO FOR THE EARTH. RESPECT FOR LIFE ITSELF.

IN SILENCE, GARETH DISAPPEARS.

AND HERE I AM — ALICE — SURROUNDED BY HIS DELICATE TREASURES. HIS IMAGINED, SKETCHED, CUT, AND SHAPED CREATIONS. A DREAM.

AND HE HAS LEFT ME THE KEYS. »

WALK THE EARTH, 2025 - H 450 X W 180 X D 10 CM - HANDMADE OIL PASTELS ON WOODEN PANELS: WALNUT OIL, LINSEED OIL, BEESWAX AND CLAY FROM BERRY, PIGMENTS, STONE POWDER FROM THE QUARRIES OF LA CELLE, ORSAN, FRANCE.