OLIVIA ETIENNE

Born in 1990 in Cherbourg. Lives and works in Rennes, France

Olivia Etienne’s practice draws on references from the history of art and of humanity. She alternates between oil painting on polyester paper — where still life serves as her main subject — and drawing with charcoal and pastel, which allows her to play with layering effects and create an impression of ethereal depth. In doing so, she seeks to cultivate an ambiguity, a strangeness that challenges the viewer’s gaze.

The fluidity and immediacy of her line bring forth shapes that overlap, merge, and sometimes fade away. This encounter oscillates between chance—something of the intuitive—and the process of recomposing a mental image. Through a careful treatment of texture and color, the pictorial matter amplifies the indeterminacy that unfolds before the eyes of the viewers.

Olivia Etienne finds inspiration in her own photographs as well as in direct observation of her surroundings. Her studio is filled with installations that serve as models. The numerous “things” she has inherited or found evoke memories that are at once personal and collective, rooting her art in a dimension that is both intimate and universal.

EDUCATION

2013. Haute École des Arts du Rhin, Strasbourg, DNAP, Art option, “Painting” Studio. Jury’s commendation.

2016. Haute École des Arts du Rhin, Strasbourg, DNSEP, Art option, “Painting” Studio. Jury’s commendation.

LINKS

http://www.oliviaetienne.com/

PROJECTS, EXHIBITIONS, RESIDENCIES

Solo Exhibitions:

2024: Dans vos mains, Exporama program, Le Grand Angle, Rennes

2023: Sous le bleu, une comète, La Briqueterie, Amiens

Painting exhibition, Cultural Center of Vitré

2022: Des êtres et des choses, Galerie l'Imprimerie, Amiens

Étude de transparences, Ici, Bourg-des-Comptes