Béatrice Coron explores visual storytelling and has lived many stories. After briefly studying art and Mandarin Chinese in Lyon, Coron has been, among others, a shepherdess, truck driver, factory worker, cleaning lady and New York City tour guide. She has lived in France (her native country), Egypt, Mexico and China before moving to New York, where she reinvented herself as an artist. Her work can be seen in major museum collections and her public art in many cities around the world. She designed Steel Blossom for Reimagining Roanoke.
In Steel Blossom, find many images of Roanoke’s past, present and future. Explore for yourself, and then download this key to the images.
Steel Blossom, 2021
New and repurposed steel
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I enjoy collecting stories which I weave into my art. Each design can be “read” on several different levels and take the viewers in a poetic dimension where they can find different meanings over time. My process of creation is to research the specifics of a place to find a unique concept. Then I sketch different vignettes of stories, legends and fantasies to create a papercutting. By computer, these papercuts become vectors that are lasercut in metal and assembled. The artwork is made of full and empty shapes producing strong shadows, which are an ever-changing extension of the work. My recent projects have reinforced my interest in metaphors and collected memories shared with the public to encourage storytelling and transmission.
Reimagining Roanoke 