Nice-based artist Olivia Célest Blanchard wins the 5th Monaco Artists’ Forum

The fifth edition of the Monaco Artists’ Forum, which this year took place entirely online, awarded The Public’s Prize to the artist Olivia Célest Blanchard for her work “Mapa Valley”.

Gazing into space, a slight smile on her lips, a woman does the dishes with the iconic pink Mapa gloves on her hands, a brand of kitchen glove which appears in households across France. This image is the beautiful portrait created by artist Olivia Célest Blanchard, in her painting ‘Mapa Valley.’ The acrylic work won The Public’s Prize at the virtual exhibition of the 5th Forum des Artistes.

A woman in the foreground

“How can we not glorify the billions of women who wash the dishes every day,” she writes on the Artists’ Forum Website, reminiscing of the kitchen space in which so many women dedicate their lives in bringing up a family. She reminds us that we all have a certain emotional thought for the kind of women “who cooked us the bold flavours that built us, these women who gave their time and a lot of love for their families.” Her work is part of a series of six paintings, all of which depict family members or acquaintances washing dishes in their kitchen.

The virtual exhibition of the 5th Artists’ Forum brings together nearly 80 artists from the fields of painting, photography and sculpture. Their works, like that of Olivia Célest Blanchard, can be seen until July 3rd.