Chantal

Firoozyves

Hufreesh

Iono

Ireno

Chantal

Painting?
It is the friend of the heart, the filter, the love which touches the soul. When I paint, my hand shows me what my mind cannot express.

The Inspiration?
Inner peace. Subtle link to the universe and its laws. The essence of Auroville. The human eye.
The music: Debussy, Berg, Scriabine, Jolivet, Messiaen, Indian music. The desert. The silence. Art in all its forms.

The Material?
Mix it, carve it, transform it. A taste of the marvelous - a fascination. It is all a pretext to reveal the depths of the being.

The Colour?
I use powdered pigments which I crush, and then mix with oils, glue, cement, sand, water and sometimes eggs. A veritable alchemist's kitchen.

The Subject?
The human face and its masks. Suggestion of subtle urban landscape. Out of the void, through a constant state of research, the 'spheres' manifest. Spheres of time and of space. Disks of the earth, of the moon and of the stars. Burning sun of a distant consciousness - present, yet unapproachable..?

While the art of painting may live inside of me, it doesn't belong to me. I have an immense gratitude for the grace of this gift. I see it as being granted to me as a means towards progress.

Chantal Gowa
1944: Born in Nice, France
1965-1969: Studied in the National School of Decorative Arts of Nice (C.A.F.A.S.)
First prize France, decoration
Diploma of Fine Arts in painting
1970-1980: Creative workshop leader for children and adults in Nice and Munich
1991: Moved to Auroville, India and opened the 'Visual Arts School'

Individual Exhibitions:
1971/1980: Cultural Centre and Gallery No 7, Nice, France
1972: Radio Monte Carlo, Marseille, France
1973: Casino of Cannes, France
1974: Gallery Mascotte, Basel Switzerland
1975: Gallery Antoine, Saint Jeannet
and Castel Gallery, Cagnes sur mer, France
1977: Syndicat d'initiative Gallery, Biot, France
1981/1987: Atelier Pflaumdorf and Gallery Joseph Hierling, Munich, Germany
1989: Savings Bank Gallery, Schongau, Germany
1995: Gallery "Le Ver-Vert", Vichy, France
Centre for Indian Culture, Auroville, India
1996: Alliance Francaise, Madras and Bangalore, India

Joint Exhibitions:
From 1968 to 1999, Chantal also participated in many joint exhibitions in France, Germany and India and won several prizes in France (Prize 'Le Provençal', 'Dorothy Gould', 'Toulon Festival', 'Menton Biennal Festival...).

Chantal also has private collections in France, England, Germany, Switzerland, USA, Canada and India.

Chantal Gowa
Auromodele, Auroville 605101 T.N. INDIA
Tel: +91 413 622.030

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