The Extreme Abstracts of Estelle Asmodelle

Art Lovers | 22 October 2022

Written by Anna Itkonen

Estelle Asmodelle has a unique background; she is an accomplished physicist, a dancer, an activist, a model, and an actress, but most of all, she is an abstract artist.

Estelle Asmodelle

“I have a varied background. My mother was an artist, and I remember going out with her as a small child looking for trees, dead trees. She loved them, and I came to love them too,” Estelle said. “I felt that I only really fitted because of my mother. I understood her language of art.”

During her school years, Estelle moved from drawing to painting. In late primary school, she also developed an interest in science; in an extraordinary way, those two worlds supported each other. “My physics is just as creative as my artwork. It is creative in a more ‘thinking’ way, rather than with paint and form, but it consists of all the logical steps before the creative elements step in. My physics inspires my art, and my art inspires my physics.”

Aqua Fantasy | 122 x 122cm , Acrylic on stretched canvas

When in university, she started to paint realistic paintings, but very quickly became fascinated by Abstract Expressionism and started to explore the movement and its New York school. The movement introduced expression in a completely new way. After completing her studies, she began to work on large canvasses focusing on the gestures, actions and emotions of painting rather than the art itself.

“Painting has been very emotional since then, and I have never looked back. I prefer the extreme abstract to the point where I hate anything recognisable. I don’t want people to feel what I felt; I want them to develop their own feelings. The longing and desires we hold just under the surface can be released using abstraction.”

Arc Statement | 200 x 143cm, Acrylic on stretched canvas

“I use very bright colours, and there is a lot of chaos. I want to push the gaze around the canvas,” she described. “The first thing my viewer will notice is the colour. Perhaps they don’t like the colour and may reject looking at it further. I see my vivid colours as a luring mechanism and a catalyst to feel.”

Vivid Evolution | 122 x 122cm, Acrylic on stretched canvas

She paints on a large scale with paintings ranging from 2 to 10 meters. “I don’t want people to look at the painting as an object, and a smaller scale can do that. The big paintings are an experience, and you are inside the art. The big canvasses are immersive, and it becomes your environment. It is about making the observer part of the art.”

Evolving Colourscape | 196 x 100cm, Acrylic on stretched canvas

Estelle’s creative process is relatively quick, and she often completes a painting in a day. The fast method is vital for her. The physicality of the creative process further eliminates conscious choices and the opportunity for the emotion to evolve into something else.

Sublime Retreat | 122 x 122cm, Acrylic on stretched canvas

“If I work slowly, it allows me time to think, and I start to hesitate. The process is purely emotionally driven, and I can hang on to the emotion when I work fast. This is why I often paint two-handed. In the end, I know the painting is ready without even looking at it, as I can feel the same emotion that inspired me. Now I am back to my rational mind.”