Sidonie Villere’s art speaks quiet volumes, scripted with carefully chosen materials applied in a “painterly way.” As Villere explained: “I find the more specific I am with the materials, the closer I can get to what I’m actually trying to say.” Those elements might include porcelain, paint, gauze, wire – whatever medium most accurately conveys the message in her ‘picture objects.’
From the earliest age, Villere has had her hands in earth – whether making mud pies in the backyard and shaping clay at summer camp or pursuing a master’s degree in ceramics. After graduating, Villere set up a studio in Mid-City and began creating works that have been shown in galleries and museums across the country. A break from the studio overlapped with the pandemic and parenthood, and in 2023, Villere returned to making art with renewed vigor and now, an in-home studio space (suited to her preferred late-night working schedule).
Villere describes the return to the studio as “kind of like getting back into conversation with a really good friend.” That conversation is familiar but evolved: “I find it becomes almost cyclical with what I’m trying to say, to talk about. They’re all self-portraits, so they’re going through whatever I’m cycling through.”
Villere’s message of late is focused on “paring down,” incorporating forms that communicate something being removed, like torn paper. “My work has always been about adding and subtracting,” she said. “I feel like I say more when I start to subtract… To me those voids always carry a lot of weight, emotionally and visually… The pieces I’m working on now – in a surprising way they’re more feminine but also more pared down.”
At this phase of her career, Villere appreciates the opportunity to continue evolving the artistic conversation, often refining previous topics with a new lens of experience. “As my practice progresses, there is a lot of work and life to look back on. Now I am looking to continue the conversation through concentrating my voice and building on what has come before.”
