Frédérique Manley: Toward a World Filled with Color
It was during a lengthy conversation with Frédérique Manley about the origins of her painting that its meaning became clear—not as a purely artistic concept, but rather as the result of a growing awareness that had taken shape over the years. Like a revelation of buried or suppressed feelings, the forms she tirelessly traces on her canvases are sharp, well-defined, and reflect a desire for pure, boundless freedom that transcends the limits of the imposed frame.
As she puts it, from the fear of emptiness and the fear of darkness spring forth colorful faces and geometric shapes: “Ever since I can remember, when I begin a canvas, I inevitably start with black—whether in patches, across the entire canvas, or otherwise. In short, my artistic approach is to fill, to fill this nothingness, this void. I deconstruct this black—which is, in reality, a combination of the three primary colors—to rebuild myself by filling my canvas with light and, by extension, myself. Light springs forth from darkness.
My inspiration is multifaceted, but it would not exist if I did not start with black. It does not disappear entirely, for the structural lines are indeed visible: it is present, and in my latest painting, it even takes up more space, as I have finally understood that it is the driving force behind my creative process. It is through color that I find a balance between the voids of existence and the light
My inspiration comes from many sources, but it wouldn’t exist if I didn’t start with black. It doesn’t disappear entirely because
the construction lines are indeed visible: it is present, and in my latest painting, it even takes up more
space, now that I’ve finally understood that it is the driving force behind my creative process. It is through color that I find a
balance between the voids of existence and the light of artistic creation. ”
Thus, Frédérique Manley’s work reads as an assemblage, a mapping of the intimate that draws on her
influences from both her religious upbringing and the paintings of Bernard Buffet. Her painting is an
exploration of layers of memory—both personal and collective—and the interweaving of the forms she renders gives shape to
a true language.
Mathilde Jouen,
PhD in Aesthetics, Arts Sciences and Technologies, 2023
“Remember the blue”
