CREA through the lens of a French art magazine
slowness, gratitude, and the awareness that we belong to the living world
— Françoise Icart Excerpt from the French-language critique (English translation)
République des Arts, Numéro 6, pp. 58–59
About République des Arts
République des Arts
République des Arts is an art magazine sold exclusively in Paris that presents a carefully selected range of Japanese and French artists. According to information provided by its publisher, it is distributed to physical outlets in Paris, including kiosks, select shops, and museums.
It uses high-definition printing on carefully selected paper; like an art book or catalogue, its pages are designed to allow the works to be contemplated at leisure.
In Issue 6, six works by CREA were published across a two-page spread. In her review, The Sacred Joy of the Living, Françoise Icart examines the artist’s overall expression and the sense of light, nature, and life embodied in each work.
Critique of CREA’s Artistic Practice
CRITIQUE EXCERPTS
On CREA’s artistic practice, Françoise Icart writes:
The Sacred Joy of the Living
In certain respects, CREA’s work may call Impressionism to mind—not through its manner of execution, but through the importance it gives to light and to the sensations light arouses. Although her visual language is resolutely abstract, the viewer nevertheless instinctively recognizes inner landscapes in which nature remains ever-present. Abstraction does not erase reality; it reveals its essence.
……
CREA’s work never seeks to impress; it invites an inner experience. Through light, it opens a space of silence, contemplation, and solace in which the gaze rediscovers what our age sometimes forgets: slowness, gratitude, and the awareness that we belong to the living world. This is doubtless where the true strength of her work resides.
Critique: Françoise Icart
République des Arts, Issue 6, pp. 58–59
Extracts from the opening and conclusion of “The Sacred Joy of the Living” — English translation from the original French
Six works, read through the critique
Sacred Forest
Thus, Sacred Forest, composed of a multitude of green touches, conveys less the image of a wood than its breath. Nothing is literally drawn, and yet everything is present: the density of vegetation, the forest’s regenerative power, the impetus that naturally leads the eye toward the light.
When Kindness Is Born
How can tenderness be represented? How can visible form be given to a sensation that belongs above all to inner experience? CREA answers this question by renouncing all description. She does not seek to show; she invites us to feel. Her works call for a receptivity akin to meditation. The gaze ceases to seek identification and simply becomes receptive.
In When Tenderness Is Born, harmonies of pale pinks, luminous whites, and delicately nuanced greens create a space of infinite serenity. Tenderness is not illustrated here: it becomes a sensory experience that gradually takes hold of the one contemplating the work.
Luminous Field
Light is the true guiding thread throughout her painting. It never merely illuminates; it reveals, transforms, and elevates. Present in each of her compositions, it guides the gaze toward an inner space where the everyday gives way to joyful contemplation. For CREA, nature becomes the privileged place in which light deploys all its creative and life-giving power.
This dynamic appears powerfully in Domain of Light. From a dark ground, ever-lighter tones burst forth, naturally drawing the eye upward. Light then becomes a symbol of elevation, self-transcendence, and hope. It does not seem merely to appear within the composition: it gradually spreads through the space, as though little by little enveloping the viewer. The passage from shadow into brighter zones gives the work a sense of opening and expansion. The viewer may feel personally welcomed into this growing light, as though it had become a space one could enter.
Presence
In Presence, deep greens, subtle mauves, and warm browns recreate the distinctive feeling of being welcomed by the trees of a generous forest. The variety of tones lends this vegetal presence an enveloping depth, while the light, placed in the distance, acts as a silent summons. It seems to open a passage into the heart of the forest and invite the gaze to move slowly forward. The work thus celebrates the communion between humankind and nature, reminding us how much the latter remains a source of renewal. It is not merely a matter of looking at a forest, but of experiencing the feeling of being received there, protected, and gradually brought back to a kind of inner calm.
First Light (Big Bang)
With First Light (Big Bang), CREA returns to the very origin of life. Without seeking to illustrate scientific discourse, she translates its founding idea: the appearance of light as the birth of the world. The initial explosion becomes a pictorial radiance that permeates the entire composition.
Blessing
Finally, Blessing admirably encapsulates her entire approach. Organized around a luminous center from which warm yellows radiate, the composition simultaneously evokes solar energy, the matrix of life, and inner peace. Immersed in this circular light, the viewer experiences a sense of profound reconciliation with oneself and with nature.
“The Sacred Joy of the Living” — Full Critique
ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH
In certain respects, CREA’s work may call Impressionism to mind—not through its manner of execution, but through the importance it gives to light and to the sensations light arouses. Although her visual language is resolutely abstract, the viewer nevertheless instinctively recognizes inner landscapes in which nature remains ever-present. Abstraction does not erase reality; it reveals its essence.
Thus, Sacred Forest, composed of a multitude of green touches, conveys less the image of a wood than its breath. Nothing is literally drawn, and yet everything is present: the density of vegetation, the forest’s regenerative power, the impetus that naturally leads the eye toward the light.
How can tenderness be represented? How can visible form be given to a sensation that belongs above all to inner experience? CREA answers this question by renouncing all description. She does not seek to show; she invites us to feel. Her works call for a receptivity akin to meditation. The gaze ceases to seek identification and simply becomes receptive.
In When Tenderness Is Born, harmonies of pale pinks, luminous whites, and delicately nuanced greens create a space of infinite serenity. Tenderness is not illustrated here: it becomes a sensory experience that gradually takes hold of the one contemplating the work.
Light is the true guiding thread throughout her painting. It never merely illuminates; it reveals, transforms, and elevates. Present in each of her compositions, it guides the gaze toward an inner space where the everyday gives way to joyful contemplation. For CREA, nature becomes the privileged place in which light deploys all its creative and life-giving power.
This dynamic appears powerfully in Domain of Light. From a dark ground, ever-lighter tones burst forth, naturally drawing the eye upward. Light then becomes a symbol of elevation, self-transcendence, and hope. It does not seem merely to appear within the composition: it gradually spreads through the space, as though little by little enveloping the viewer. The passage from shadow into brighter zones gives the work a sense of opening and expansion. The viewer may feel personally welcomed into this growing light, as though it had become a space one could enter.
In Presence, deep greens, subtle mauves, and warm browns recreate the distinctive feeling of being welcomed by the trees of a generous forest. The variety of tones lends this vegetal presence an enveloping depth, while the light, placed in the distance, acts as a silent summons. It seems to open a passage into the heart of the forest and invite the gaze to move slowly forward. The work thus celebrates the communion between humankind and nature, reminding us how much the latter remains a source of renewal. It is not merely a matter of looking at a forest, but of experiencing the feeling of being received there, protected, and gradually brought back to a kind of inner calm.
With First Light (Big Bang), CREA returns to the very origin of life. Without seeking to illustrate scientific discourse, she translates its founding idea: the appearance of light as the birth of the world. The initial explosion becomes a pictorial radiance that permeates the entire composition.
Finally, Blessing admirably encapsulates her entire approach. Organized around a luminous center from which warm yellows radiate, the composition simultaneously evokes solar energy, the matrix of life, and inner peace. Immersed in this circular light, the viewer experiences a sense of profound reconciliation with oneself and with nature.
CREA’s work never seeks to impress; it invites an inner experience. Through light, it opens a space of silence, contemplation, and solace in which the gaze rediscovers what our age sometimes forgets: slowness, gratitude, and the awareness that we belong to the living world. This is doubtless where the true strength of her work resides.
About the critic
Critique by Françoise Icart
Françoise Icart was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2021. She is President of the art-promotion association ARTEC; President of the Art’Elles group, an association of women artists and citizens of Europe and the world; Secretary-General of La Base; and a member of the French Union of Art Journalists, the Professional Artists’ Union, and the Arts, Sciences and Letters association. She is an associate member of the SMLH (Society of Members of the Legion of Honour) and Permanent Secretary of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Literature (AESAL). After graduating from the University of Tours, she studied drawing and pastel under her father, a portrait painter at the Louvre Museum. She began her career as a teacher, specializing in the teaching of communication, psychosociology, and creativity in BTS (Higher Technician Certificate) programmes. She is also active in many media, including as a radio-programme host and a television guest.
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