Artist Statement
Born in Paris in 1964, Pascaline Doucin-Dahlke is a French artist living in Los Angeles. She is licensed as an architect in France who has pursued in parallel an art education in both France and the United States. For ten years, she has worked in the creative divisions of theme parks and resort development for Universal Studios and Eurodisney S.C.A in both countries. Simultaneously, and for the past 30 years, she has painted with several mediums including oil, acrylic, pastels, watercolors on traditional and unconventional surfaces such as stone, bamboo mats, raffia.
In 1994, she moved from Paris to Los Angeles where she had a successful debut exhibition and sale of her art. In 1996, she moved to Orlando and focused primarily on her art career leading to several showing in Los Angeles, Toronto, Wisconsin, and Orlando. In early 1999, Pascaline moved back to Los Angeles and has had art commissions for restaurants and public spaces in addition to her gallery and museum showings. During the summer 2003, she had her first international level solo show at the LMan Gallery for the Los Angeles Art Biennale where she presented contemporary multimedia and digital artwork based upon the interpretation of Chinatown through her particular cultural and aesthetic viewpoint. In 2005, she had another important art commission with Universal Studios for the Japanese Wasabi restaurant in Citywalk that is fully decorated with her art. 2007 leads her to new directions in public art with the Chinese New Year street banners in Los Angeles Chinatown, CD covers design for a world music, and private art commissions, in addition to art exhibitions and public art projects. Her public art projects ranges from digital art applied to large murals, street banners, and bus stop panels to installation with nature components in public parks. Pascaline has also painted on electric boxes to beautify her neighborhood. She also contributed to create an urban design vision for Little Ethiopia streetscape in Los Angeles that included a logo, paving design, gateway, lighting, tree species selection and urban furniture.
Pascaline's artwork consists of conceptual semi-abstract acrylic paintings, digital art, art installations, mixed media drawings based on local landscaping, nature, architecture and still life. In her most recent work, Pascaline has been experimenting upon colorful abstract landscaping on different type of materials relating to the diversity of cultures found in America and France.
For each new series, she develops a fresh pictorial vocabulary with different techniques conveying the singularity of a particular environment, socio-political event or philosophical thoughts. In general, her largest body of work mostly consists of reinterpreting landscape space through personal observation with a hidden message behind it.
She is developing a new type of public art and fine art using digital technology in 2D. In parallel, she is also creating public installation with nature components that have been installed in Glendale, and Highland Park within Los Angeles area.
Her research focuses on the definition of space, light, and graphic limits within a non-conventional approach through vibrant colors and texture. Pascaline creates her own artistic vocabulary based upon a combination of early 20th century European and American Abstract Expressionist art movements mixed with a contemporary flair. Pushing to the edge of abstraction, the artist remains within a classic aesthetic harmony.
Her work has been part of group exhibitions in museums in Wisconsin, Florida, California, and Pennsylvania in addition to public art and numerous exhibitions in galleries and public artworks within the Los Angeles area.
Pascaline is involved with community art projects. She has curated several shows in partnership with Little Ethiopia Cultural Center in Los Angeles where she creates cultural outdoor and indoor events that encompasses artist talks, music, dancing and poetry reading.
Pascaline considers art, for both the artist and the viewer, as an uplifting and challenging experience filled with emotion.