The French artist, Isabelle Chapuis, is at the forefront of the emerging trend where artists explore the nationalities and communities of the world. The work of Isabelle Chapuis combines the various nationalities and communities of the world in some extraordinary ways. She exhibits a sharp eye for the diversity of cultural expression and a firm grasp of identity politics in the art which has earned her many awards both locally and nationally. Her artwork often brings to mind the thinker, and this is evident in her many series which cover issues such as nationality, gender and age. She has been described as a form of visual literature as her work has an attention to detail which seems to anticipate and utilise the visual language of its subject matter.
Among the works which comprise the renowned ‘Nationality’ series are the individual works entitled ‘La Meuse’, ‘Nationale’ and ‘Diversitudes’. ‘La Meuse’ (the title of which translates as ‘The National’) is a lengthy piece composed of fifty-seven fragments from the Nationality collection, all produced between 2021. In this piece, the main theme manifests itself through the central motif of a flute soloist playing the flute in the left hand and the notes from the right hand played by a string quartet. In terms of the style of the piece, the work is highly stylistic, which is communicated through the choice of textures and medium. It contains numerous brush strokes, all executed with strong emphasis on texture and the variation in line which underline the large scale of the work.
‘Diversions’ is another prominent Chapuis’ contribution to the growing field of national music, this time with a focus on saxophone instead of flute soloing. In this piece, the main theme is derived from the works of Georgio Castelluccio. Like ‘La Meuse’, ‘Diversions’ is largely a product of the artist’s imagination. A more recent recording from the saxophone repertoire of Isabelle Chapuis would be perhaps more suitable for a list of the world’s leading saxophone players, such as those listed in the Rolling Stones “Saxophone Sonatas” album.