Biography - Charlene Lau Ahier

Born in Canada, Charlene Lau Ahier has lived and worked abroad in both the United States and France. She studied Aerospace Engineering at the University of Toronto, a background which has always stimulated a kind of visual questioning of the world around her.

She studied painting in New York and France, in the ateliers of realist painters Jeremy Lipking, David Leffel and Rita Natarova. This was followed by an apprenticeship in Paris with H. Craig Hanna and an intensive studio program in Italy with Alex Kanevsky. While living and studying in Paris, she encountered a deep connection with works spanning centuries of history. These diverse influences range from masters Rembrandt and Titian to modern painters Rothko, Uglow, Freud, Borremans and Richter, all of whose works share an enigmatic presence.

Painting and drawing extensively from life, her work includes compelling portraits and hauntingly beautiful figures that reflect an inner movement of the spirit, often restless but caught in the stillness of the moment. The work hints at the hidden world of thoughts and emotions. Frequently experimenting in a variety of techniques, the common threads in her work are a sense of reflection and longing.

Her work can be found in private collections in the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, and France. She currently resides in Ottawa.