Jeanne Gaudière (XX-XXI) - In Pair

From the artist:
“Two greyhounds in mirror symmetry. Formal and balanced. Part of the Unaware series, but approaching presence differently through counterbalance rather than solitude. No narrative, no reaching toward each other. Just two figures occupying the same space“

“In Pair” presents two dark, almost silhouetted horses drawn into an intimate encounter. Their heads meet at the centre of the composition, creating a quiet moment of recognition, closeness and mutual presence.

The restrained palette of deep blue and charcoal against a warm, softly illuminated ground gives the work a contemplative character. Rather than pursuing anatomical detail, Faustin reduces the animals to expressive forms, allowing their posture and proximity to carry the emotional weight of the image. A small star like mark between the horses introduces a delicate point of light, subtly emphasising the connection between them.

The simplicity of the composition gives the work a timeless quality. It is a study of companionship and instinct, where the physical closeness of two animals becomes an understated meditation on trust, tenderness and belonging.

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Jeanne Gaudière

Jeanne Gaudière is a self taught artist based in Hamburg whose practice is centred on the greyhound, a subject that has accompanied her since childhood. Drawn to the animal’s quiet elegance, elongated form and instinctive reserve, Gaudière has gradually transformed this enduring fascination into a visual language of her own.

Her ongoing unaware series considers presence, solitude and the invisible interior lives of other beings. The greyhound becomes more than a depicted animal: it is a figure of return, a quiet symbol of recognition and of finding one’s way back to something instinctive and deeply familiar.

Gaudière’s compositions are deliberately restrained. Pale grounds are interrupted by dark, almost silhouetted forms, creating a tension between light and shadow that recalls the visual paradoxes of René Magritte’s L’Empire des lumières. Here, daylight and night coexist within the same pictorial space. The recurring star introduces a small rupture within this stillness, at once atmospheric detail and personal signature.

By presenting the greyhound from behind and withholding its face, Gaudière moves away from conventional portraiture. Identity is no longer communicated through expression or gaze, but through posture, presence and the space occupied by the figure. Her paintings inhabit the threshold between portrait and symbol, specificity and abstraction, inviting the viewer to consider what remains unseen.

At the heart of Gaudière’s practice is a simple yet compelling proposition: that existence does not require acknowledgement. The greyhound does not perform for the viewer. It simply occupies its own world, complete within it.

Havisham & Co.
Presented by Havisham & Co., representing artists whose practices preserve and reinterpret the language of European painting.

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