About



Born: 1980. San Jose, CA




Jeanne Vadeboncoeur was born in 1980 in California’s Silicon Valley and resides there still. She received her BFA in painting from San Jose State University.

Vadeboncoeur embraces the traditional practice of still life paintings, rendered usually in oil --- her subject matter, however, is not so traditional. With precise execution, she explores objects that we often overlook in the day-to-day banal: a pile of donuts, an assembly of gummy bears or a bag of marbles. Her paintings provoke the viewer to find joy in life’s simple pleasures.

Vadeboncoeur has shown at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, the Herbert Sanders Gallery at San Jose State University, the San Jose Museum of Art, Triton Museum of Art, Bryant Street Gallery in Palo Alto, Visual Aid in San Francisco, and Gold Gallery in Boston.

 ARTIST  STATEMENT

 I take simple everyday objects that are often overlooked – or at least un-remarked upon – and render them as though they are precious icons. Often times presenting the viewer with the suggestion that they are more important than we would initially give credit for. They are taken out of their day-to-day context and isolated on a stark background with dramatic lighting that permits the item to be viewed and hopefully appreciated in a way that it never has before. I often find great personality in inanimate objects, beauty in broken or damaged things, or complex of relationships between the most mundane items.
  Despite these hidden depths the work is never meant to be too serious. I try to imbue the paintings with a sense of humor and whimsy to contrast my own efforts of over dramatization.


  I am often asked how I choose my subjects. Most of the objects I select are small; usually they can fit in the palm of my hand. I find that the spectrum of my focus takes on a different quality when I have to get in so close to the selected item. Even at a close range I am still able to see the object in its entirety, unlike with a larger specimen, where to see the detail I often looses sight of the overall image. There is something self indulgent and satisfying about allowing my self to give all my attention to a single solitary item. I also choose items based on surface. There are certain surfaces that I love to recreate: the flat powder on a donut, the colorful translucency of gummi bears, the unique finish of eggshell.  Lastly, and most simply, I pick items that I like.