Beauty is a muse, sprawled across the canvas with a hilly, Italian landscape and soft sunset. Beauty is the artist’s pet rabbit.
Fleur Palau trained in Italy and divides her time between there and Wolfeboro with her pets. She is known for both traditional landscape paintings and works with rabbit themes. In an exhibition called “Rabbit World,” Three Graces presents recent paintings and pastels by Palau until Feb. 2.

Having rabbits in the paintings works as a combination of personification and displacement wherein the furry creatures represent the human psyche. In the portrait of her black and white pet, “Beauty Experiences Freedom,” Palau intends to express the oxymoron in the title, since beauty is a concept people claim or own. 

The rabbit series is a whimsical and sometimes moody reflection of human nature, all backed by natural settings. The artist describes the mountain scene in “Summer Balloon Ride in the Alps” as hazy, because that’s what the light was like when she painted it on site, but most of the paintings have a similar (and appropriate) soft and fuzzy look.

The rabbits and the fine detail of their fur is realistic, making the paintings border on surreal. Some of the animals seem to soar in the sky as if in a flying dream. The titles tend to be important to interpretation—if meaning is important—because the facial expressions of rabbits are subtle, at best. The artist has also provided descriptions for most of the paintings that allow visitors to better understand the Rabbit World.

Some of the meanings are easier to connect to than others. “The Honeymoon” shows two rabbits speeding away in a carrot-colored car, the passenger gazing fondly at the crouching driver, while the outside becomes a blur. In “The Secret,” two rabbits view distant snowy mountains, bound together but remaining distinct.

“Balance” has a plump bunny in a yellow jacket standing on a beach ball with a baton, while the ball miraculously floats above a mound of earth. Despite the impossibility of the scenario, it’s clearly about the benefits of maintaining balance in life. Meanwhile, “The Investigation” is not so obvious. One mysterious rabbit has a translucent, yellow orb around its head, while two smaller animals meekly look up at it.

In two paintings of a “Spanish Woman,” no back story is given nor needed. The formal portraits have a familiar old world charm, despite being strange. The woman looks despondent or is perhaps forced to hold the rabbit on her lap. 

Palau’s style is flowing, often with serene pastel shades that swirl together. Exceptions to the palette include the ruddy colors of the Western states in “Traveling in Summer, or Psychedelic Rabbit,” and the darkest on display, “Rabbit Running on Moonlit Path.” 

Three Graces is located at 105 Market St., Portsmouth, 603-436-1988, www.threegracesgallery.com.