ELIANE SAHEURS
Eliane Saheurs semi abstract art
Statement
My work moves through semi‑abstract forms shaped by the quiet tensions and shifting rhythms of the natural world. Vivid colours drift into one another, shapes surface and dissolve, and layered textures create abstract spaces that feel as if they’re breathing.
Each piece emerges through an intuitive process of building, breaking apart, and rebuilding, allowing unexpected relationships to appear. I follow these moments of surprise, letting the work evolve into something fresh—something that feels alive in a way that cannot be predetermined.
The semi‑abstract nature of the paintings invites viewers to wander, pause, and find their own meanings. Some may sense landscapes, others may recognize organic forms, while still others may respond only to movement and colour.
Each interpretation is welcome. What matters most is the emotional feeling the work stirs – a spark of curiosity, a pull of memory, a moment of resonance that belongs uniquely to each person. My process embraces this openness, allowing the paintings to act as quiet invitations into a world that shifts with every gaze.
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Eliane began art studies in 1985 at Algonquin College, Ottawa, and continued at the Ottawa School of Art until 1995, working mainly with Michel Savage, Blair Sharpe, Kathy Gillis, Jeff Stellick and Susan Feindel. Studied also with Frank Webb from Pittsburgh, Lynn Forgach from New York, Toshihisa Fudezuka from Tokyo and Virginia Cobb from Santa Fe. Residency, Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA. Art course in New Mexico.
Has lived in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1984.
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Eliane Saheurs traded one homeland of spectacular mountains for another, and found her artistic voice between ancient stability and endless change. Landscapes, variously abstracted, are her muse, and they crackle action and life. What the viewer sees is up to the viewer, as Saheurs, even at her most literal, makes no orders. Her scale and perspective fire the imagination, and only the artist’s reverence for our rugged land is indisputable...​
Peter Simpson, Ottawa, March 2021
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A structure-less painting is, to me, a painting that does not matter. Structure mirrors your degree of responsibility toward the work. You can't just let it flow around in pretty colours. It needs a kind of core.
– Per Kirkeby
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Curatorial Experience
2016 Juror for Art in Public Spaces for City of Ottawa
2015 Juror for Karsh-Masson Gallery Programming
2004 Juror for Group Exhibitions, City Galleries
2004 - 2006 Exhibition Coordinator for Elizabeth Fry Society, Ottawa (Art in the Garden)
2001 - 2003 Exhibition Coordinator for Signatures by Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Alpha & Omega Art Gallery, Ottawa
2022 Galerie Old Chelsea, Chelsea, Quebec
2019 Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron, peintures récentes
2016 Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron, Espaces inédits
2015 Gallery Sivarulrasa, Almonte, Enchanted Spaces
2014 Trinity Gallery, Shenkman Center for the Arts, Inside Out II (October)
2013 Galerie Bergeron, peintures récentes, October
2011 Trinity Gallery, Shenkman Center for the Arts, Ottawa, Hidden Structures III
2010 Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa: Structures cachées II
2009 Trinity Gallery, Shenkman Center for the Arts, Ottawa: Hidden Structures I
2006 Galerie J.Cl. Bergeron, Ottawa: Mirages de la nature
2005 Art Rental and Sales, Ottawa Art Gallery: Pastoral Mysteries
2003 Gloucester Gallery, Ottawa: Nature’s Forces and Currents
2002 Alliance Française Ottawa: Recent paintings
2001 Signatures Gallery, Ottawa: Peintures récentes
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Auction at Ottawa Art Gallery Art + Parcel
Annexe Gallery Art + Bag
2024 Auction at Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser
Exhibition at Gallery Santini, Ottawa
2023 Auction at Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser
2021 Big smalls , Cube Projects, Ottawa
2020 LeParty, Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser
2019 LeParty, Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser
2018 Toronto Art Fair with Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron October
2017 Toronto Art Fair with Galerie Jean-Claude Bergeron 26 – 30 October
2016 Galerie Sivarulrasa Gallery Almonte, Anniversary show
2015 LeParty, Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser, May
Galerie Sivarulrasa Gallery, Almonte, Spring Voices, April
2014 Galerie Luz, Montreal, July
LeParty, Ottawa Art Gallery Fundraiser, June
Ottawa School of Art, 4X
Cube Gallery, Warmth
2012 Galerie Bergeron, Exhibition 20x20x20x20 for 20th year celebration
2011 Cube Gallery, Small Works, December
Ottawa Art Gallery, Winter Delights, December
2010 Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, October
Rio Tinto Alcan, Montreal, October - December
Ottawa East Art Festival, Shenkman Center, Orléans, June
2008 Cube Gallery, The Big Bigs, Festivearts, Ottawa Arts East
2007 Cube Gallery, Canadiana
2005 Galerie J.Cl. Bergeron: 5 femmes - 5 visions. Ottawa Art Gallery: Jazz Exhibition.
Ottawa Art Gallery: The Art of Golf. Ottawa Art Gallery: Juxtapose
2004 Ottawa Art Gallery: “Spring Fever”. Rideau Valley Art Festival, Westport, Ontario.
2003 Signatures Gallery, Ottawa. Ottawa Art Gallery, Art Sales and Rental: Progression. Swiss Embassy Art Show, Ottawa.
Ottawa Art Gallery: “Through the Looking Glass”. Rideau Valley Art Festival, Westport.
2002 Gloucester City Gallery: Juried Opening Exhibition. Rideau Valley Art Festival Westport.
Rothwell Gallery: Featured Artist November.
Signatures by Le Cordon bleu: "Songs of Light". Gloucester Gallery: Selection
2001 New York Art Expo with Gallery Artworks, Vancouver.
Rideau Valley Art Festival, Westport.
2000 Rideau Valley Art Festival, Westport. Toronto Art Fair with Gallery Telpaz, Kanata.
Galerie J.-C. Bergeron: L’art et le papier IV.
Museum of Nature: Ikebana inspired from paintings.
Awards and Grants
2018 Saatchi on line: Best of 2017, 1 work selected for this group
2016 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2015 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2014 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2013 Artavita, Los Angeles, Honorable Mention, painting
Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2012 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2010 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
2009 Ontario Arts Council, Exhibition Assistance Grant
Reviews
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2021 Peter Simpson, essay
2014 Maureen Korp, PhD, Rocks, Water, Light
2012 Maureen Korp, PhD, 10 paintings
2010 CBC Entrevue: Galerie Bergeron, Structures cachées, 10 mars 2010-03-21
Rogers Television: Interview at the Gallery, Sunday, March 15, 2010-03-21
Susan Hallett: Eliane Saheurs, Consumate Artist, The Epoch Times March 12,
2010 B2 Arts and Culture
2004 Melanie Scott: A group of Five, Interior Magazine, Ottawa, premier Issue, p. 57
2002 A. Hébert: Portrait of an Artist. ArtsNews, 2002, 16/1: 4
2001 H. Klotz: When Art is on the Menu. The Ottawa Citizen, 26.12.01: E6
2000 Lart et le papier IV, Galerie J.Cl. Bergeron, 2000, p. 34, 45
T. Bird: Reflections of Gloucester, Municipal Art Collection, p. 61, 90
Representation
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1998-present The Ottawa Art Gallery, Gallery Annexe, Ottawa, Ontario
1997-2023 Galerie d'art Jean-Claude Bergeron, 150 rue St.-Patrick, Ottawa, Ontario
Work Experience
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2015-2019 Gallery Associate, Harrison Gallery, Ottawa
2009-2020 Installation of exhibitions, AOE, Ottawa
2005-2006 Gallery Assistant, Calligrammes, Ottawa
2005 Gallery Assistant, Varasmus Fine Art, Ottawa
Collections
Private collections in Canada, Switzerland, Australia, USA and France
Corporate Collections:
Enbridge Inc. Toronto, Ontario
Telesat Canada, Gloucester, Ontario
City of Ottawa, Ontario
Township of Cumberland, Ontario
Ottawa-Carleton Center, Ottawa, Ontario
Caisse populaire Notre-Dame, Ottawa, Ontario
Opcom Solutions Inc., Ottawa, Ontario
Mitel Corporation, Kanata, Ontario
Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Ottawa, Ontario
Silicon Valley North Publications, Ottawa, Ontario
Hamilton Appotive Callan, Law Offices, Ottawa, Ontario
Ambassade de Suisse, Ottawa, Ontario
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
Minolta Business Equipment, Gloucester, Ontario
Directeur Swissair Canada, Montréal, Québec
Alcan Aluminium, Montréal, Québec
Expo-Zone, Gloucester, Ontario
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute, Ottawa
Hill Charity Golf Classic, Ottawa, Ontario
Conolly, Nichols, Allan & Carroll, LLP, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario
Brascan Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario
Emergo Canada, Calgary, Alberta
Keller, Williams Real Estate, Ottawa, Ontario
Kelly, Manthorp, Arlitt, Heaphy, Mossey Law Offices, Ottawa, Ontario
Tom Curran Law Offices, Ottawa, Ontario
Royal Galipeau, MP, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Standards Association, Toronto Ontario
CIBC Wealth Management, Ottawa, Ontario
Rhoda Wong, New York, USA
Henderson Design Group Kailua Kona, Hawaii, USA
Koitel, Tallinn, Estonia
Interior Design Susan Marinello, Hollywood, CA
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