Using the canvas as a stage, Aurélie Galois presents multiple single scenes depicting images that seem to be drawn from mythological, historical and biblical sources. The various elements of the work—movement of subjects, sets, costumes, objects and lighting—help express the artist’s vision of women’s power and the treatment of women in art.

Several stories included in the exhibition involve portraiture to influence or challenge the verisimilitude of the themes or to suggest the figures’ state of mind in the eyes of its viewers. “Mise-en-scène” references artistic and literary topos that characterized the production of visual arts from the 14th and 15th century featuring heroines, conflicting ideas about gender roles and elements of role reversal in society.

About the artist:

Aurélie Galois lives and works in Paris. In the early 1990s she began learning traditional techniques of oil painting, engraving, charcoal and pastels in a private studio in Paris. After earning a Master’s degree in Literature from Sorbonne University and Art History from The School of the Louvre, she worked for five years as editor-in-chief of Double Magazine and then as a freelance journalist and writer. Mainly a portraiture artist, she publishes and exhibits her work regularly, in addition to completing commissioned portraits.