Montreal-based artist Marina Dieul’s oil paintings provoke the viewer with their subjects’ confrontational gazes. The young girls Dieul often chooses as subjects break the fourth wall of her paintings, making the spectator aware of his or her position as a voyeur. But more so than draw attention to the artwork-viewer relationship, the girls Dieul paints appear to break free from the two-dimensional artworks with an empowering defiance. Dieul’s ability to render deep, convincing, albeit imaginary environments enables her subjects to look as though they are bursting through the canvases with a sense of bravery and triumph that her audience can vicariously experience. Take a look at some of her recent artworks below.
