Fabienne Francotte

27th March – 3rd April 2020

Color Outside the Lines with Fabienne Francotte

“Let me tell you how I draw,” she says. “Late at night. No lights. Eyes wide open. Straight to the point. Like a cat”

These words capture what Fabrienne is: an artist, therapist, a guide and mentor. She has nurtured artistic self-expression in students at design institutions, among refugees in camps and in rehabilitation centres among others. Her training as a calligrapher and at the Royal Conservatory of Dance in Brussells under famed choreographer Maurice Béjart cemented her artistic language.

While Fabrienne started out in calligraphy where she acquired strict discipline in her craft, this rigidity would later give way to her distinctive free flowing lines, looping in and out of the paper in mesmerizing shapes, to form the portraits that have now come to define her style. Each portrait is unique as the subject is unique and offers psychological insight into each persona she draws.

Thus, Fabrienne believes firmly in the power of art to heal. She has worked with the Rohingya refugees and youth at the National Institute of Mental Health. Her goal is to encourage self-esteem and mindful expression by focusing on identity, highlighting their life journey and providing a positive experience through drawing, painting and sculpting.