Michèle VICQ

Michèle Vicq was born on the 24th of January 1953 at Aubigny in the
region of central France known as the Berry. Third of a family of
nine children, in her heart of hearts she has always been a tomboy
who loves working with her hands. Her father, who worked as a
welder in a large factory, had set up a workshop in their garage
where he made wrought-iron balconies and door grilles. Unseen by
her father, Michèle would try-out his welding equipment so as
to 'be like daddy'.

She has kept these sweet  memories close to her heart for the last
forty years.

In 1986 she arrived in Brittany, first living in the town of St Malo
where she ran a small business. At this time even she did not
suspect that she was an artist and it was not until 1996 that she
began first to paint, inspired by her partner Lionel. Although
completely self-taught, Michèle's canvases gained a dozen prizes in
art competitions.

Her great adventure in sculpture began in 2001 when Lionel was
inspired to give her a set of welding equipment. The memories of
her father surged up and her career as a sculptor in metal was
born.

Since then Michèle has exhibited widely throughout Brittany and also
in Germany where her work has gained several major prizes. In 2006
she opened up her workshop so that she could hold sculpture courses
tailored to the individual for both adolescents and adults. Many
groups of schoolchildren have also passed through the premises.

Michèle has an astonishing capacity to create, drawing on her
imagination and childlike dreams. She proclaims her creative power
through her works of painting and sculpture. She is a true master
of her art in which the smallest scrap of metal or canvas is thrust
to the furthest reaches of her imagination while at the same time
gaining new meaning – even if this meaning seems at times absurd
and even grotesque.

She loves to live in a world where the unconscious mind and sheer
instinct fly or float free with an extraordinary freedom of
expression. As she herself says: “the true difference between the
artist and me is the over-riding ambition to invent the fantastic”.