Artist picked for French feast of art

Tuesday 05 May 2015

A young Jersey artist will be showcasing her work on the streets of France later this month.

Lucie Marie Holt has been picked by the Forum des Arts to take part in their three-day arts festival in Saint-Malo and will be joining hundreds of amateur and professional artists from all over France.

The event from 15 to 17 May has been running annually since 2003 to promote the work of young artists aged between 15 and 35 and give them a chance to network with each other.

31 year-old Lucie Marie is well known for her mono biro drawings of “The Pigeon People” but the exhibition will be the perfect opportunity to show off her new, more colourful works of art.

Lucie Marie said: “I will be exhibiting the original artworks of my Charles Baudelaire inspired 1920’s movie actress drawings 'Les Fleurs Du Mal' for the first time, previously only seen in print. I'm a bit of a francophile so the opportunity to exhibit these french poetry inspired images in France could not be more perfect.

“Currently I am working on several surrealist narrative based projects centered around the nude figure, combining mixed media and letter writing.”

Jersey Arts Trust has partnered with the Forum des Arts for the past three years, sending Jersey artists across the water to take part in the festival that features performances, concert, workshops and exhibitions  

Artwork is not for sale but it’s a chance for artists to get to know each other and show off their work to a larger audience.

Ben Robertson and Oli Nightingale of Jersey’s Kartoon Faktory have twice taken part in the festival.

They said: “We exhibited 6 cartoons which we translated and adapted to suit the St. Malo and Normandy region. The cartoons were highly acclaimed, and after exhibiting we donated one to the Mayor of St Malo, who in turn presented it to the Chief of Police in St Malo.

“We both thought the Festival was very well organised and entertaining, and we had an amazing few days. We made some great contacts with French Artists who we will definitely be collaborating with in the near future.”

Lucie Marie graduated from Highlands College in 2012 and is a member of Genuine Jersey.

She said: “Last year I took part in the French and Jersey artist exchange collaboration at Hamptonne, the experience made me contemplate my practice in a whole new light. Conception in art breaks language barriers.”