Virginie Hucher

Arts & Culture

5 July

Written By Hande Renshaw

French artist Virginie Hucher’s work focuses on themes related to nature, the body and the living, through the mediums of acrylics, oils, performance and sculpture.

Photography: David Vanhaverbeke

Virginie Hucher in her studio. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

*Série Le jardin fertile,* 2022 by Virginie Hucher. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

‘I don't feel like I have a job, it's more of an art of living, a different way of living. A vocation,’ says Virginie Hucher. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

H&F: Hi Virginie, what led you to where you are today?

Virginie: It was through the discovery of the world that creation emerged. Every moment of life marks a future act of painting, sculpting, drawing and dancing. Dance is the first art form I came across on my artistic path. Then very quickly, while continuing to dance, painting became an obvious choice. Dancing allows me to be at one with life, to capture fullness and emptiness, the body and soul of the living. This choreography of all living things enables me to let my creativity run free. It has become my creative process, a performance that I have named Living Supports.

Do you have a disciplined studio routine and any rituals to help keep you focused?

A direct view of the forest, tea and music. Each day and night are very different. I listen and welcome that rhythm.

As an artist, what’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way?

To keep dancing! Observing the world, transforming it and offering it again to the world – life is eternal music.

What drives your creativity?

Nature offers me the whole world every day! My studio is located on the edge of a forest of pine, birch and other beautiful species in the Hauts-De-France. There is a pond, and I can observe nature’s live show every day. It would be difficult for me to create without surrounding nature, without the sound of the wind and the songs of the birds. However, travel and the discovery of new living spaces are inseparable from creation. My workshop is the kingdom of encounters and experiences!

Is this your dream job?

I don't feel like I have a job, it's more of an art of living, a different way of living. A vocation. This requires organisational requirements, but above all, it’s about listening and observing the world. It's not a ‘dream’, it's life that presented itself in this way, and I welcome it with all my soul and heart.

What is it about abstract art that you’re most drawn to?

I’m interested in painting the essence of things and not in representing them, at least in this Natural Stories series of forms because sometimes other series are more figurative. Dance is part of a process of liberation of the body and mind and of total improvisation insitu, to give free rein to spontaneity, and to observe everything through photos and videos. Afterwards, I use this material to study the sketches made on what I call Living Supports. This is a medium in its own right, which serves as a support for my creations on paper, canvas and ceramics. It’s a creative process that liberates and induces other art forms. Nature is a recurring theme in my work, because I live and work in nature. The body is also very present in my research, through dance, and also through the Taoist idea that’s based on the existence of a principle at the origin of all things and on birth, etc.

*Les figures intemporelles,* 2022 by Virginie Hucher. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

*Botanica et La parade du soleil,* 2022, sculpture series by Virginie Hucher. *Photo:* *David Vanhaverbeke*

‘I work with notebooks, photos and videos. I record everything as much as possible, let it sit, and then come back to it, months, or sometimes years later.’ *Photo:* *David Vanhaverbeke*

“It would be difficult for me to create without the surrounding nature, without the sound of the wind and the songs of the birds.”

— Virginie Hucher

*Lune blanche,* 2022 by Virginie Hucher. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

*Le règne végétal,* 2022 by Virginie Hucher. Photo: *David Vanhaverbeke*

Living media series, dance performance and drawing on the sand, Corsica, 2022 by Virginie Hucher. *Photo:* *David Vanhaverbeke*

Your work features very earthy colours, why are you so drawn to these tones?

I’m sensitive to the essence of things. That's why the colour palette I use is close to the colours of nature - driven by the desire to get as close as possible to the sensitive and the living.

In my workshop there is a specific place for the creation of colour, which I’ve always liked to call, ‘the colour laboratory’, which opens onto a large window offering a view of the forest in my garden. The light comes from the north, it’s a reflected light, because it bounces off something before illuminating. It doesn’t illuminate directly, it diffuses.

What is the biggest influence behind your paintings?

Everything can be inspirational, it’s above all necessary to channel and organise the different elements, which is why I work with notebooks, photos and videos. I record everything as much as possible, let it sit, and then come back to it, months, or sometimes years later.

Nature is a recurring theme in my work, because I live and work in nature, and because I travel a lot, often for the Supports Vivants series.

My artistic influences are very diverse and vary a lot, due to the moment or my frame of mind: Constantin Brancusi, Fabienne Verdier, italian renaissance, Henry Mooresculptures, Marta Pan, Jean Arp, Picasso, Matisse’s series on dance, Pina Bausch and Maurice Béjart’s choreographies, african music, Serge Gainsbourg and Cocteau. As I said, it’s an answer that can truly vary depending on the moment, but they are my main pillars, no matter what.

What are you looking forward to most this year?

This year is a very special year with a lot of artist residency trips where I will work differently and leave the studio to recharge my batteries in other spaces. Above all, there’s the design and the self-construction of my new workshop, which will be finished soon – it will be located in the same garden as my current workshop, between a 12th Century church and a very beautiful forest. I’m also preparing an exhibition titled, Inspiré d'une histoire vraie [Inspired by a True Story].

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