Born in Belgium in 1970, Marie-Isabelle Callier graduated with a BFA in Illustration and Graphic Arts at the Saint-Luc Art School in Brussels in 1991. She has worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, and artist, and has exhibited in Belgium, Washington DC, and Shanghai. Her life and work has brought her to live in Europe, the United States, Shanghai and now Luxembourg.
Read MoreIn addition to writing and drawing, Marie-Isabelle Callier is best known for painting, often using watercolor and wax. Many of these paintings are about feelings and the sublime emotional state that she seeks to record, capturing the deep emotional impressions of life before they vanish. Her works play with legibility and illegibility, not revealing anything too specifically and in doing so, allowing the viewer to find his or her own interpretation. Choosing contradictory materials such as water and ink on wax to evoke shapes, her work is not interested in specific shapes but the direct emotions they suggest, especially in their relationships with others. Callier’s work often depicts figures, landscapes, and trees, shifting between the abstract and the figurative. She is deeply inspired by nature and the strength and verticality of trees. There exists a distance of ambiguity and emotional impact, trying to reach the emotions of everyone by giving memory and life to her own.
Her major exhibitions include Trièdre Gallery (Lasne, Belgium, 1996); L n’est pas C Gallery (Genval, Belgium, 1997); Art au Village (Glabais, Belgium, 1999); L n’est pas C Gallery (Brussels, Belgium, 2000); Salon, Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg (Luxembourg, 2002); Konschthaus beim Engel (Luxembourg, 2004); Balthazar Gallery (Brussels, Belgium, 2005); Poppy, Art and Jewelry Gallery (Washington DC, United States, 2010); and Art+ Shanghai Gallery (Shanghai, 2012).
In addition to her artist pursuits, Marie-Isabelle has written and illustrated several children’s books. Her publications include J’aime pas le poisson (Alice Editions, Brussels, 2003);Sarah et le petit pois (Alice Editions, Brussels, 2005); Bosses, Cabosse et Carabosse (Alice Editions, Brussels, 2008); Non et non, pas question! (Editions Mijade, Belgium, 2011);Ma maman ballon (Éditions les 400 Coups, Canada, 2012); and Mr Rouge et Mr Bleu (Editions Mijade, Belgium, 2012).
