“I’m not trying to say something specific with my artwork,” said Adèle Saint-Pierre at the March 14 launch of her exhibit at Riffraff Bookstore and Bar in the West End of Providence. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t say something to those who view it.” The Franco-American artist finds inspiration in the human and animal forms she sees in things such as cracks in the sidewalk, creases in fabric, chipped paint on walls, and wood grain on floors. She works in colored pencil and watercolor; her style is characterized by minimal lines and what she terms “naive shading.” Saint-Pierre calls both Providence and Québec City her home. She goes up to Québec every summer, and her husband Antoine has family in Montreal.
For her exhibit, thirteen framed colored pencil drawings, each one featuring a dog, were mounted on the corner wall opposite the bar. They will be on display until May, and are available for sale, according to Riffraff owner Ottavia De Luca. “Our first featured artist was in April 2024. We rotate the artists every two to three months,” De Luca explained. “This is a place that celebrates art in all its forms, from literature to music to artwork. And bringing people together for all of that is kind of our thing.” Saint-Pierre chose the drawings from her work in progress, titled “Abécédaire des pitous” or “Doggie ABCs.” In each picture, a dog is studying something on the ground. Her favorite, “Quadrant,” has a canine staring at a geometric form. “These dogs have found something on the path, and they’re looking at it,” she pointed out. “As we go along our own paths, will we take the time to look at it, too? I hope so.”
The self-taught artist said her beagle Sophie is often her muse. Saint-Pierre found herself drawn to art during a crisis in her life. Within a year of getting divorced, COVID happened. The forced time alone helped her connect with a part of herself that she had forgotten: art. She’d had one or two art classes in school, she recalled. That formed the foundation upon which she built her distinctive style. “There were no distractions,” she said of this time. It gave her the chance to explore and hone her artistic technique. In a sense, such solitude is still with her. Saint-Pierre works from 4 to 6:30 am. each day, and treasures the quiet.
“I’ve always been an early riser. I grew up on a farm in Maine that was owned by my French-speaking grandparents from Québec,” she said. A career educator, Saint-Pierre holds a BA in English Literature, an MA in French Literature, and a PhD in Linguistics. She is a signature member of the National Association of Women Artists. Her artwork has been exhibited in Providence, Québec City, Newport, and Brooklyn. She describes herself as an avid reader in French, English, and Spanish. She’s currently immersed in the novel Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj, which she purchased at Riffraff when she attended a meeting of its fiction reading club.
One of her favorite artists is Jean-Paul Lemieux, who is widely considered one of the foremost painters of 20th-century Québec. “His pieces are just so intriguing,” she said. On a piece of paper from a memo pad, Saint-Pierre demonstrated where Lemieux would place the subject of his painting. “It could be here, in the corner, or here, along the side,” she said, against a background of austere and infinite space. Those desolate spaces in Lemieux’s work are akin to the pauses, or the notes not played, in a Thelonious Monk jazz composition; which is appreciated by the duo of Vincent Ama, trumpet and vocals, and Sam Salazar, on keyboard, who performed during the launch.
“We play mostly slow jazz, and like to keep it obtuse,” Ama said while they took a break in the courtyard after their set. With a nod to Monk, Ama remarked, “We try to make space a band member.” “And when we’re on break, we like to say she’s taking a solo,” Salazar added with a laugh. They said they’ve been playing together for a little over a year now. Ama and Salazar also have a steady gig at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center. The bookstore has become a hub for the literary community. It works with LitArts RI down the street to hold an open mic and several author readings each month. There are fiction and nonfiction book clubs, and a literary trivia night too. And, of course, a home to arts events like Saint-Pierre’s opening night. •
Find the artist at her website, adelesaintpierreartist.com or insta @adelesaintpierreart
