Pierres et Soleil - An exhibit by Michele Yates
Join us at the Alliance on May 14 at 6 pm for the opening of Pierres et Soleil, an exhibit featuring paintings by Michele Yates. Admission is free, and registration is encouraged!
Pierres et Soleil, the paintings on display at the Alliance Française, represent my sensorial and emotional responses to the elemental nature of Provence, its textures, its warmth, and its enduring light.
Market Day II | Acrylic on cradled wooden panel | 24” x 30” | $1875
Haze | Acrylic on cradled wooden board | 24” x 36” | $1950
Please consider registering and making a $10 donation to support cultural programs like this one. Your support helps benefit our entire community. The exhibit is open to visitors during our regular hours from May 7 to June 6, 2026.
Artist Statement
“I am a contemporary painter of gestural, abstract images that are inspired by landscapes. I am most interested in the themes of landscapes with memories and feelings, the passage of time, and the nostalgia that is borne of immigration. I seek to express the sensory experience (the feel of the sun, the fragrance of fields, the warmth of the wind, the arousal of an emotion) of being immersed in a particular place. What is the essential quality that makes a landscape memorable?
My process revolves around a daily practice of walking and capturing, with my camera, moments of wonder in the everyday. I don’t interpret these images with paint in the studio, but the practice serves as a way to pay attention to what I notice. My work is steeped in color, texture and intuitive mark making, and is built on layers added and also taken away, to create layers of history.
It’s my hope that my paintings will inspire wonder at our shared natural world and be a reminder to notice the beauty in the everyday, as well as reflecting on the layers of your personal journeys.”
About the artist
“French-born and now living in Minnesota, I am a contemporary painter whose work is steeped in color and texture. My paintings are a response to my immediate surroundings and also to memories and emotional responses to my birthplace. I am most often inspired by the natural world.
I studied at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and have been studying in the Creative Visionary Program led by Art2Life’s Nicholas Wilton for five years.
I spent 17 years as a docent at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts writing and leading tours, and was surrounded by inspiring master works. This gave me a deep understanding of the history of art and also how to help viewers forge their own personal connections to works of art.”