Self-taught, Stéphanie Ledroit taught herself the technique of the knife. Used since the Italian Renaissance, this technique will be particularly sublimated by Gustave Courbet, notably in his snowy paintings. Stéphanie Ledroit will make this technique her central trademark, particularly recognizable. Thanks to this, she will receive multiple awards (Salon des Artistes Français, Société des Amis des Artistes Français, 1st prize ADAC, etc.). Her works are part of important private collections around the world.
My work is essentially focused on solitude. Not the negative solitude that we can sometimes suffer from due to contempt, abandonment, individualism….
But the solitude intrinsic to human, necessary for his development as a human being. It manifests itself in multiple forms, three of which are invited into my painting.
Creative solitude, first of all, a state of introspection that allows me to feel what I am doing, to detach myself from simple execution. The use of the knife to create my works also contributes to this perception.
The solitude of my subjects, then, essentially children who have this ability to ignore the world around them, to create their own bubble. This very natural ability that leads them to take naive, spontaneous poses that I try to capture.
They thus impose themselves, unique, on the canvas, in monochrome, with a not very evocative background reducing superfluous information to concentrate on attitudes.
Finally the solitude of the viewer, the very one who will let himself be carried away by this character who turns his back on him, towards an elsewhere that is his own.
So for a few seconds, a few minutes, he finds himself, in turn, in a bubble tinged with memories, sensations, dreams….
In this way, through one of my paintings and thanks to this positive solitude, I will have been able to create a moment of sharing.