Svadilfari

Through her persistent representation of the cow as subject, Eloise Brodeur seeks to create a dialog. Beyond the refreshing approach to her subject, beyond the striking proportions and the quality of her presentation, Eloise Brodeur’s insistance on the cow as subject calls out to be seen. Captured in their placid, ruminating glory, her bovines embody sensitivity, calm and poise.

Through her work, the artist explores the themes of life in contrast and consumption, abundance, excess and over-production. Brodeur is fascinated by how perspective and intent can change the banal into the extraordinary. Her painting of cows reflect this exploration of reinterpreting the ‘everyday’ through attention and awareness to find an ‘ideal’. Presented on monochromatic backgrounds, with their pastures stripped away, Brodeur decontextualizes the cow, and our preconceived notions of it. The blank space around the cow creates room to see it, and ourselves, differently; we are freed from the superfluous chatter of our own expectations and compelled to look directly at that which the frenetic pace of life would have us pass by. Brodeur expresses her pursuit of the essential by tightening her composition, bringing us closer to her subject and emphasing the cow’s unique presence. Brodeur’s rendition with a near-monochromatic palette reflects the tranquility and equinamity of her subjects. Relieved of its busy pastoral environment, and presented on a flat, monochromatic backdrop, the cow inhabits a space of purity and equilibrium, inviting serenity and introspection.