Caroline Gaudreault

Caroline Gaudreault is a magical realism Canadian painter born in Alma, Quebec. She was raised in a creative environment that became a way of life from an early age. She studied visual arts at Collège d’Alma and pursued university studies in literature, history, Spanish and programming. For several years, she held various jobs in these fields of study, while practicing art sporadically. But it was when she moved to Mexico to live for a few years that she discovered Mexican Day of the Dead imagery and began painting and drawing again. Fascinated by these skeletons with eyes festooned with flowers that are depicted in mundane everyday situations, she paints a few works that feature living half-skeletal, half-human or animal characters.

In 2018, she started focusing more seriously on art and refining her distinctive visual identity, drawing inspiration from both Mexican folklore and classical portraiture. She incorporates blooming empty eye sockets as a reminder of the ephemeral nature of life, such as the “memento mori”, (remember that you’re going to die). Her paintings represent a unique blend of whimsy and darkness, highlighting the beauty and fragility of life, as well as the extraordinary and banal aspects of everyday life.