VALÉRIE POTVIN
FREE
A statuesque figure emerges in the public space, like a heroine brandishing her weapons. The female effigy is wearing overalls and holding a hammer. By displaying the accoutrements of a workshop labourer, The Sculptor Herself highlights the work and technical skill involved in its creation.
In implanting this image of what appears to be an invincible woman in the public space, the artist seeks to advance the cause of women by challenging the stereotypes in all of their representations. In a highly evocative mise en abîme, the artist has represented herself. This gesture affirms and validates her own status as an artist. Stoic and indestructible on her pedestal, the immaculately white monument also pays tribute to the strength of women and their uncontestable place in the practice of public art.
Valérie Potvin lives and works between Canada and Germany. Her multidisciplinary practice consists of sculpture, public art and videos. She has an interdisciplinary master’s degree in arts and a bachelor of fine arts from Université Laval. Her research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Fonds de recherche société et culture du Québec. She is a winner of the Bourse René-Richard and a finalist for the Prix Videre Création en arts visuels. Her works have been presented at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the SESC Pinheiros in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Cameron Art Museum, in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
