Vanessa Sylvain
Interview & Photography / Catherine Bernier
During her residency at The Parcelles, Vanessa Sylvain embraced the rhythm of the land and let it guide her gestures, creating pieces that feel both grounded and luminous.
Rooted in abstraction, Vanessa’s art is a dialogue between movement, memory, and light—a way of translating feeling into form. What emerged from her time with us is a full collection titled New Moon, reflecting not just the landscape around her, but the inner landscapes she continues to explore with care and intention.
Based in Stoneham, Quebec, Vanessa Sylvain is an artist working in the field of contemporary art. Her work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions on the national and international stage, including in Québec City, Montreal, New York, and Toronto (2019–2020, 2024). Her pieces can also be found in private collections around the world—in Japan, Sweden, France, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, the U.S., and across Canada.
Since 2013, Vanessa has created commissioned works for private clients, businesses, and public events, such as Relèvénement as part of the Festival d’été de Québec (2017). In 2022, she also created a special 10-piece collection titled Le plus doux des voyages for Maison Simons in Québec City.
Her work has been highlighted in several Quebec publications, including Ligne Magazine (2020–2021) and La Presse (2020). In 2018, she was awarded First Prize by the jury at the Rendez-vous de la jeune peinture Bell competition during the Festival Promutuel de la relève in Thetford Mines.
Vanessa’s abstract approach places gestural movement at the heart of her creative process—a direct extension of her emotional state. She sees this as a way to transmit positive, vital energy through her work. Inspired by the sensation of freedom, she expresses herself through light and color, crafting each piece as both a reflection and expression of a particular state of mind.
Throughout her practice, a continuous exchange unfolds between artist and material. She deliberately creates striking contrasts—interweaving opacity and transparency—to illustrate a sense of dynamism, balance, and visual rhythm. Using fluid acrylic paint, she plays with light and shadow, layering bold or softened blocks of color, often in monochrome, and weaving curved lines to evoke either tranquility or vibrancy.
Merging expressive gesture with technical precision, Vanessa’s paintings ultimately convey a visual language that is both intricate and masterfully composed.
What were your intentions for the residency, and how did it go?
At first, I signed up simply to feel inspired, with no expectations—just to soak in the place, its slowness, its beauty. To give myself permission to breathe without any obligations. In the end, it turned out to be a true wave of inspiration. It was everywhere—I didn’t even know where to set foot. I ended up creating a full collection called New Moon. Completely in love with the place.
A space that nurtured the artist, the woman, and above all, the mother in me—offering the mental reset I deeply needed to create.
- Vanessa Sylvain
Would you recommend this art residency to other artists and why?
Absolutely! I recommend The Parcelles to every artist I know, no matter their discipline. It was so beneficial for me—as an artist, a woman, but especially as a mother. I needed that mental space to create.
Follow Julia Christensen / @vanessa_sylvain
Portraits by Catherine Bernier / @cath.be
