OLÉ! MAGAZINE PUBLISHES AN ARTICLE ON PAINTER BARBARA CHRISTOL
Olé!’s Focus
BARBARA CHRISTOL
Barbara Christol is a French artist based in Nîmes. Her drawings brightened up the exhibition section of Olé ! Magazine a few years ago. Today, she exhibits internationally and her work is part of private collections in Europe, England and the United States. Her upcoming exhibition will be held in Paris in January at the Grande Halle de La Villette, to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Salon d’Automne.
Immersed in art from an early age, she is a jack-of-all-trades. After dabbling in music and dance, she finally settled on drawing and painting. Trained at the Beaux-Arts in Nîmes, and in “Arts and Art Sciences” (Plastic Arts option) at the Sorbonne, her practice is polymorphous and includes, drawing, painting, illustration, weaving and photography. Her many travels, particularly in South America, have led her to develop nomadic creative systems that can adapt to the constraints of her travels, mainly with wool, sketchbooks and a camera. The thread is always there in her paintings, either physically or through the omnipresent use of lines. With a passion for geometry, the artist weaves and unweaves a body of work in which subjects are endlessly intertwined in a web of downstrokes, voids, and upstrokes. Very concerned by the artisanal nature of her work, the painter fluctuates between figuration and abstraction., Barbara mixes mostly classical and traditional techniques to match with more contemporary ones. Her architectural universes emphasise an optimistic view of the world, in which the role of the painter and his or her gesture act as a revelation. Geometric figures imbued with poetry move into landscapes, mountains and architectures, all underpinned by the lines of constructions that act like threads in her compositions.
To discover the works of Barbara Christol, head for Nîmes, 9 rue de St Gilles, where her studio can be visited by appointment.
Evelyne Virmont
Barbara Christol considers creation as a labyrinth, where the artist reaches the crossroads through trial and error, chance and repetition, while maintaining a common thread. Very concerned by the artisanal nature of her work, the painter fluctuates between figuration and abstraction. The line is omnipresent in her works as it is for her the bridge between both, the common thread. Barbara mixes mostly classical and traditional techniques to match with more contemporary ones.
Barbara Christol weaves and unweaves a work whose subjects intertwine indefinitely in games of full, empty and untied. The Painter offers architectural universes highlighting an optimistic perspective of the world, where the place of Barbara Christol and her gesture act as a revelator.
From an early age, Barbara Christol grew up in the world of art and had a passion for drawing. Barbara studied at the Beaux-Arts de Nîmes and later attended several painters’ workshops to perfect her techniques. The Painter understands that she must deepen her knowledge in Art History and joins the prestigious University La Sorbonne in Paris up to the Doctorate in order to elaborate her own plastic and aesthetic research.
Barbara Christol’s pictorial work has become unique over the years as she has developed a plastic and aesthetic practice revolving around balls of wool. The artist creates series of ephemeral weavings that she exhibits in institutional places, in nature, or private spaces. The thread is always there, in her paintings, either physically or with the omnipresent use of the line. Figuration and abstraction are interwoven around favorite themes: space and play. Geometric figures infused with poetry move into landscapes, mountains, architectures, all underpinned by the structural lines that act as threads in the compositions.
Barbara Christol’s works are regularly exhibited and are part of private collections in France and the United States.
Contact: info@barbarachristol.com – Instagram: barbarachristol – Facebook: barbarachristolart
