Money is strange stuff. For all that people venerate it, for all intents and purposes it is just a number. But it is a number that makes all sorts of things possible that weren’t before.

The loss of parents-in-law and the sale of their house has been somewhat challenging experience over the past couple of years, but as is the way of these things, certain things have indeed now become possible that hitherto simply weren’t.

One of the most rewarding has turned out to be patronising the arts, whether by supporting local music festivals or by purchasing things we find beautiful from artists. There is a real feel-good factor associated with this. Why? I don’t fully know, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that art is about as unutilitarian as it is possible to be… It is about the pure appreciation of beauty.

Since moving to our apartment over twenty years ago, we had entertained the idea of having a large, abstract piece of art in our living/dining room. While a rather unusual print had sufficed in the interim, the hunt for just the right piece never completely stopped.

While in Lille in January this year, quite by chance we came across the gallery of Christelle Manche. Her work made an immediate impact on us, and while we initially moved on, over lunch we both came to the view that we needed to go back and see more. I think it really was a coup de coeur – sometimes one sees something that just resonates instantly…

As it happened, Christelle was present, and we allowed ourselves to be coaxed in, after which followed a pleasant exchange about the nature of her paintings.  This is what Christelle says about her work:

I work on framed white canvasses, mixing acrylics, inks, pigments…and a few well-kept secrets. Each piece is born from layering, free gestures and materials chosen for their vibrancy and depth.

I draw inspiration from my surroundings, my travels and everyday encounters….

Christelle has exhibited at salons d’art including Lille, Paris, Montepellier, Brussels and Luxembourg, but as far as we know, this is her first piece to make it to the U.K. For me, her work resembles the surface of the Earth as seen from perhaps a satellite – which appeals to my geographer’s eye as well as my artistic one. Or maybe it is a section through a precious stone? Or maybe a hugely enlarged seed or amoeba?  Who knows?

It took a few days of mulling over prices that quite frankly would have hitherto been out of the question – but we both came to the simultaneous conclusion that this was something we wanted to do. A further email conversation with Christelle ensued, following which we purchased a piece called “Jaroskorpa” and set about finding out how to become art importers.

Luckily, the process was not too complex, and within a month, the painting arrived by courier and was duly hung. The thing about art, as we have noticed before, is that is has an impact quite out of proportion to the object itself – and this is most definitely the case here. I think the word is “presence”. The room was transformed.

All in all, a wonderful experience, and a rewarding moment of serendipity.

More information on Christelle’s art can be found at https://christellemanche.com/