Invasion Metamorphosis

UK debut solo show by ground breaking French artist Juliette Clovis to be held at RISEgallery

The theme of metamorphosis is ambiguous. In biology, the term refers to a process of transformation within the life span of an entity. But metamorphosis equally has a psychological meaning, with changes intervening in the character and therefore the identity of the person.

For this solo show, the artist Juliette Clovis opens the door to her work in full mutation. Her work on female identity, which until now has represented a classic and quasi-photographic approach, is being transformed with an invasion by a multitude of new external elements. New women emerge covered in a profusion of natural elements packed with wildlife and flora.

Certain pieces are completely anthropomorphic, challenging and disturbing. Take for instance the chimeras with human faces – creatures that confront us with our own humanity.

These bodies and faces seem to fade away in favor of luxurious nature, and the artist explores female identity, its place and its relation with nature. The new portraits that she now proposes are a veritable hybridization of style and eras, a blend of allegory, poetry and surrealism.


About the Artist

For about a decade, the French artist Juliette Clovis has focused on female identity and the representation of women in modern society. Her artwork, made of cuttings of extreme minutia cut by the artist’s hand, draws inspiration from a combination of mythological, historic and religious references as well as other ethnic codes to produce her feminine creations.

After her first very colorful works, which were close to Pop Art, the artist has evolved a graphical singular universe combining neo-classic sensitivity and a baroque language, brought to life through a unique technique that she has pioneered.

Far from the current French contemporary art movement, the artist places a very particular emphasis on technical and aesthetic research. Juliette Clovis is an ‘aesthetic surgeon’ of vinyl. She works the material from the block, cuts it and sculpts it, to turn it into the ‘skin’ from her starting material: vinyl. She seizes each piece of art like pieces of haute couture on which she will spend hundreds of hours to form her creations. And it is this same quest that drives her work this year with a new medium: porcelain.

VIP private view and invited press, 5.30-6.30, 20th November

Private view, 6.30-9pm, 20th November