New Exhibit Opens Today at Bradford Mill

Local artist Brigitte Desautels fancies herself a storyteller, though words really aren’t her thing.

“All of my work tells a story,” says Desautels, “But I haven’t written anything.”

Writing, it seems, is among the few forms as yet unexplored by Desautels, an artist who hails from France, lives in Harvard and works out of a studio at the Bradford Mills in West Concord. An exhibit opening there this evening offers a window in to the range of her work.

From Raku masks to collage to large-canvas watercolors, Desautels will display about 40 or 50 pieces from various points in her life. A catered reception will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight, May 3, at 43 Bradford St.

Art, Desautels says, is not the life she chose but rather the life that chose her.

“I am an artist because I have to be – I have no choice,” Desautels wrote in an email to Patch. “I am driven by my talent and my creative imagination, which seeks expression through form, color and a wide variety of media. I work with whatever I though, from pen and ink to oils, acrylics, a wide variety of found materials and objects, as well as ceramics.”

She’s forever thinking about the next painting, and inspiration is often everyday life. One piece in the exhibit, “The Lonely Man” was inspired by an overheard conversation. Another is a mixed media piece depicting an overcoat from Desautels’ closet, featuring the very wire hanger the coat hung on.

Brigitte Desautels’ exhibit will be featured from May 3 through June 5. For more information, check out the PDF posted above.