Artist Oriana Cornille is currently presenting her exhibition "Lights of the South" at the Port Gallery in La Ciotat, running through Sunday, August 31st. The luminous yet discreet artist offers visitors a journey through her artistic universe that bridges Egypt and Provence, capturing the distinctive lights of both regions.
Cornille, who typically unveils her work every two years, approaches her art with a literary sensibility. "I paint like a writer," she explains. "I choose my subject, I choose my canvas, and I translate my words into colors—soft, tender, vibrant, or brilliant. My colors are words. My subjects are inexhaustible because light changes throughout the day, and you never have the same impression when looking at a landscape."
The artist's connection to Egypt runs deep, rooted in her personal history and heritage. "I am of English origin, Scottish more precisely, and I was born in Alexandria," Cornille shares. "I keep deep within me the love of this country, these landscapes, the banks of the Nile. I return there every year and bring back photos, memories, and scents. Back in La Ciotat, I paint and work on my memory that restores to me fragrances and very warm colors."
Cornille's artistic technique is distinctive and deliberate. She paints according to her inspirations, working exclusively with oil and palette knife, which allows her to work on the thickness of the material. When she begins a canvas, everything is already prepared in her mind, drawing from her rich repository of visual and sensory memories collected during her annual trips to Egypt.
The exhibition represents a unique cultural bridge between two Mediterranean worlds—the ancient landscapes of Egypt with their warm, desert-influenced light, and the softer, more temperate illumination of Provence. Through her paintings, Cornille captures not just the visual aspects of these places but also their emotional and sensory qualities, translating her deep personal connection to both regions into vibrant artistic expression.
