A Cambridge artist will see her art hang next to some of the most famous and recognizable paintings and sculptures in the world next month.
Starting Sept. 1, Wilks Chaplin will have her artwork displayed in the Louvre in Paris and get a rare opportunity to showcase her work in front of art collectors from around the world.
“This is such an amazing opportunity,” Chaplin said. “I honestly feel so honoured and satisfied that it's there, because I feel like I'm being appreciated and recognized.”
On display are three works of art with the largest carrying a price tag of €25,000, that’s equal to $32,300CAD.
The 25-year-old artist was born and raised in Cambridge and has been creating art since she could first hold a paint brush.
Working with landscape paintings and other styles, she said she came into her own and refined her style at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto.
Here is where she made most of her contacts and built relationships that would later help her sell her artwork around the world.
The exhibition at the Louvre is not the first time her artwork has been shown in international galleries. Her paintings have hung on walls in Brussels, Madrid, Los Angeles and New York City.
Chaplin describes her art as minimalist and modern. “It’s all in the details,” she adds.
She wants to create art that is timeless and unique in every possible way.
When it’s time to sit down and be creative, she always comes back to one place; her parents' estate in Cambridge.
Sitting near the Grand River close to Langdon Hall, the Chaplin family estate provides the ideal place for a studio that creates art to be sold and shown in homes and galleries worldwide.
“I love Cambridge and I am such a homebody that I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is my home,” Chaplin said.
The art studio doubles as a gallery and plays host to a growing annual art show to connect the artist with curators.
Despite being shown at the world famous Parisian museum, Chaplin is looking for the next thing to lend her artistic ability too.
In 2023, she has been invited to participate in events in Brussels and in Austria.
Currently, she is the senior designer at the School of Flowers in downtown Galt and has been with the florist for over seven years.
With flowers she continues to apply the same method and process as her own art pieces, only the medium changes.
“I am just so excited for these next weeks, being able to have my family there to support me,” Chaplin said. “They see how hard I’ve been working, I pour all of my heart into every piece and they get to be there with me to celebrate.”
