Regards Francophones: Visions of Women

About the Artist

Artist Bio

EMMA BRIGAUD
Emma Brigaud is a Franco-American artist and designer specializing in product innovation, experience design, and storytelling. After earning degrees in Marketing and French from William & Mary, she went on to build a content department at a digital marketing agency. Between 2020 and 2021, Emma designed two public art installations in Dohm Alley in downtown Princeton. The hands-on experience inspired her to return to a studio environment and she is now in her last semester of an MFA in product design at the School of Visual Arts. Emma is based in New York City but thrilled to be exhibiting in Princeton with other French women.

Emma is fascinated by the way the French language captivates emotions that she has yet to see expressed in English. She’s particularly fond of author David Froenkinos’ descriptions in his novel La Delicatesse, which inspired the title of one of her pieces. There’s a passage early in the novel where Fançois tries to guess what Nathalie will order (they just met). After a thorough, amusing analysis of the drinks on the menu and their corresponding personalities, he decides that if she orders an apricot juice, she’s the one. Here we see the many facets of femininity and the potential for love filtered by the preconceptions of a man. It’s yet a charming scene, especially for a romantic who would also order apricot juice (if not coffee).

THAIS CALVARIN
Thaïs is an artist who has been immersed in paper-making since 2019. Initially interested in paper as a surface for creative expression, she soon became fascinated with its history as a vehicle for knowledge and communication and enraptured with its materiality. In order to learn this craft, she pent seven months between 2020 and 2022 at Hook Pottery Paper in Indiana and two years, from 2022 to 2024, at Women’s Studio Workshop in New York State. Thaïs has made multiple bodies of work during this time and exhibited them in NJ at Art Fair 14C and at the Montgomery Arts Council; in NY with Life Project for Youth in Manhattan and at WSW; and in IN at Hook Pottery Paper.

Her artwork has questioned relationships between print and paper, between paper-making and drawing, as well as connections between paper, fiber, and water. Each of her compositions has explored how a support for art can become art itself.

SOPHIE MEUNIER
Born in France and a longtime resident of Princeton, FloreOrganicBotanics (real name Sophie Meunier) is an academic by day and pressed flower artist by night! Flore’s work showcases the beauty and diversity of Princeton’s native flora. Each piece is crafted using real flowers and leaves organically grown in Flore’s Princeton garden. Pieces are made of pressed flowers reminiscent of places where they actually grow.

CHRISTOPHE MIZI-ALLAOUA
Chris is a photographer from the south of France who moved to Princeton in 2019 where he pursued his passion for photography as a hobby. As a big fan of music and dance, Chris works often for local music events in his neighborhood. He is showcasing beautiful portraits of two women which where very special moments for him, where he succeeded in capturing the essence of these young women: a singer interpreting Edit Piaf brilliantly and with passion; a model resting after a modeling foto shoot. Capturing the moment. That’s what Chris loves about photography.

STÉPHANIE PERRAIS
Stéphanie Perrais finds her deepest inspiration in the natural world with a particular fascination for the avian realm. Her diverse body of work—ranging from photographs and paintings to sumi-ink and drawings—reflects her lifelong connection to nature. Growing up amidst the forests of Sologne and the shores of Brittany nurtured her profound respect for the environment which remains the
cornerstone of her artistic expression. Her art explores themes of fragility and resilience, beauty and simplicity, transience and permanence, with interconnectedness as a constant thread throughout. Stéphanie’s professional background reflects and feeds her creativity: she holds a Ph.D. in 12th century French Arthurian Literature, is a second language acquisition and IB specialist, and runs a
successful business. She has taught at institutions including Bucknell University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently at the George School. A passionate advocate for wildlife, Stéphanie’s art raises awareness about urgent conservation challenges facing birds and their habitats. Her works seek not only to celebrate nature but to inspire others to protect it.

DELPHINE SALZEDO
Delphine is a Princeton, NJ-based contemporary artist specializing in mixed media painting and drawing. Born in France and raised across Spain, India, Canada, Belgium, and the US, her global upbringing deeply influences her work. Through portraits and figurative art, she explores universal themes of identity and connection. Her portrait and figure paintings and drawings serve as windows into the soul, offering glimpses of shared humanity that transcend cultural boundaries. In a world often fragmented by differences, Delphine’s art serves as a powerful reminder of our inherent connectedness – a testament to the transformative power of creativity.

Formerly a lawyer, Delphine trained under Master Gilberto Geraldo of the Russian Academy of Arts, as well as Anna Neis and James Sondow of the Princeton Academy of Arts. Her work has been exhibited throughout the NYC metropolitan area.

GWENN SEEMEL
Since 2003, Gwenn Seemel has been painting in a polka-dot Cubist style that lends their feminist figurative art an aura of joy, even as the artist addresses serious issues. Seemel’s work has been featured everywhere from Newsweek and Hyperallergic to the cover of an Oxford University Press book. An avid questioner of copyright, the artist speaks regularly about creativity, notably giving a TEDx talk in Switzerland. Seemel is both French and American, and they live in Lambertville, New Jersey.

No matter the form it takes — landscapes, florals, animal art, surreal imagery, or public murals — Seemel’s cheerfully rigorous art refuses to let us forget how interconnected we are. Their portraits celebrate not only the What of a person by capturing a subject’s features and expression, but also the Who, which is that ineffable part of each of us that we nevertheless spend our lives trying to “eff” — both to ourselves and each other.

CLARISSE STONE
Clarisse is a contemporary painter, born and raised in Alpine Switzerland where she developed an enduring love of nature. Although her education and first career were in the biological sciences, she has always been drawn into the fine arts, the world’s representation through the eyes of others, and art’s impact on emotion. In her second career, she strives to evoke emotions through light, form, color and brush strokes. She favors landscapes and portraits, in oil, to create visual beauty through oil’s lush, glossy, and sculptural qualities. She has exhibited her work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

She principally studied at Princeton Academy of Arts, with the master Gilberto Geraldo, Anna Neis and James Sondow of the Russian Academy of Art in St. Petersburg.

Social Media

Emma Brigaud
IG: @fleurban.emma
LinkedIn: /emmabrigaud

Thais Calvarin
thaiscalvarin.com
IG: @thaiscalvarin

Sophie Meunier
IG: @floreorganicbotanics
https://floreorganicbotanics.com

Stéphanie Perrais
IG @stephanie_perrais
www.stephanieperrais.com

Delphine Salzedo
IG @delphine_salzedo
www.delphinesalzedo.com

Gwenn Seemel
gwennseemel.com

Clarisse Stone
IG @clarisseastone