Biography
Fabienne Verdier (b. 1962, Paris, France) is an abstract painter who explores the dynamism of forces in nature, movement and immobility by drawing on her intimate knowledge of techniques and traditions of both Western and Eastern art. Verdier paints vertically in ink, standing directly on her stretchers, using giant brushes and tools of her own invention suspended from the studio ceiling. Her work combines Eastern aspects of unity, spontaneity and asceticism with the line, action and expression of Western painting.
As a young art school graduate, Verdier left France for China in 1985 to study the art of spontaneous painting and other Eastern traditions with some of the last great Chinese painters who survived the Cultural Revolution. Her adventure and immersion as an apprentice painter would last nearly ten years, recounted in her 2003 book, ‘Passagère du Silence’.
Verdier’s work has been exhibited extensively in Beijing, Singapore, Taipei, Paris, Rome, Lausanne, Zurich and Brussels, among other cities. In 2011, she was included in an important group exhibition The Art of Deceleration, from Caspar David Friedrich to Ai Wei Wei at the Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany. In 2012, the Hubert Looser Foundation of Zurich, having previously commissioned several works, selected Verdier for a group exhibition with Donald Judd, John Chamberlain, Ellsworth Kelly and Cy Twombly in Vienna’s Kunstforum. In 2013 the Groeninge Museum in Bruges, Belgium, held an important solo exhibition of Verdier’s work in conversation with Flemish Primitives such as Van Eyck and Memling. In 2014, she was invited to create an installation of seven works for Köningsklasse II, organized by the Pinakotek der Moderne of Munich, and participated in Formes Simples at Centre Pompidou-Metz in France. In addition to her current painterly research into possible links between music and painting, recent projects include Verdier’s conceptual collaboration with architect Jean Nouvel for the National Art Museum of China project in Beijing. In 2016, seven of Verdier’s works were acquired by Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Verdier was invited to compose a visual partita for the 2017 edition of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and won the commission to design the Roland Garros French Open official poster. In 2018, the artist set up a nomadic studio on Sainte-Victoire Mountain, renowned for its presence in several paintings by Paul Cézanne. The series was exhibited alongside the works of Cézanne at Verdier’s retrospective exhibition at Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, 2019.
Fabienne Verdier lives and works in France and Canada. She is represented in the UK by Waddington Custot.
Read moreWorks
-
Fabienne Verdier, Montagne Sainte-Victoire, depuis le plateau de Bibémus, 2018 acrylic and mixed media on canvas 178 x 355 cm
-
Fabienne Verdier, Balle de match 3, 2017 commissioned for Roland Garros 2018 tournament, acrylic and mixed media on vellum 184 x 134 cm
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EFabienne%20Verdier%3C/strong%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title%22%3E%3Cem%3EBalle%20de%20match%203%3C/em%3E%2C%202017%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Ecommissioned%20for%20Roland%20Garros%202018%20tournament%2C%20acrylic%20and%20mixed%20media%20on%20vellum%3Cbr%20/%3E%0A%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E184%20x%20134%20cm%3C/div%3E -
Fabienne Verdier, Polyphonie - Palimpseste 1, 2017 acrylic and mixed media on canvas 183 x 136 cm
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EFabienne%20Verdier%3C/strong%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title%22%3E%3Cem%3EPolyphonie%20-%20Palimpseste%201%3C/em%3E%2C%202017%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eacrylic%20and%20mixed%20media%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E183%20x%20136%20cm%3C/div%3E -
Fabienne Verdier, White Propagation II, 2016 acrylic and mixed media on canvas 72 x 143 in 183 x 363 cm
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EFabienne%20Verdier%3C/strong%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title%22%3E%3Cem%3EWhite%20Propagation%20II%3C/em%3E%2C%202016%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eacrylic%20and%20mixed%20media%20on%20canvas%3Cbr%20/%3E%0A%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E72%20x%20143%20in%3Cbr%20/%3E%0A183%20x%20363%20cm%3C/div%3E -
Fabienne Verdier , Walking Painting / Rouge, 2015 acrylic paint and mixed media on Moulin de Gué paper 183 × 268 cm
-
Fabienne Verdier, L’un, 2012 acrylic and mixed media on canvas 165 x 355 cm
-
Fabienne Verdier, Silencieuse coincidence, 2010 An installation view of 'Crossing Signs', a retrospective at Hong Kong City Hall, 2014.
-
Fabienne Verdier , Vide - Vibration, 2016 acrylic and mixed media on canvas 120 x 251 cm
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22artist%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EFabienne%20Verdier%20%3C/strong%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title%22%3E%3Cem%3EVide%20-%20Vibration%3C/em%3E%2C%202016%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3Eacrylic%20and%20mixed%20media%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%0D%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E120%20x%20251%20cm%3C/div%3E