Inès Longevial

From her childhood, Inès Longevial was devoted to drawing—which she discovered through Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani in the books of the family library. Later she studied Paula Modersohn-Becker, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Niki de Saint-Phalle, all of whom greatly influenced her later work. A love of color, which she has never ceased to explore, led her to painting, and at the age of eight she created her first compositions. This practice quickly became a daily occupation and a true calling. As soon as she could, Longevial dedicated herself to studying applied arts in Toulouse, from which she graduated in 2013 with an MFA. Portrait has become her favorite genre and her playground: her passion for color and drawing have given her the freedom to follow an imaginary and poetic dream. Her landscape-like faces unfold a candid, surreal universe that resonates with the outside world, imprinting its colors and moods. Inès Longevial has always been inspired by the variations of light as they convey and capture an impression, a sensation, a feeling. Imbued with a melancholic sweetness that can be combined with acidic tints, these portraits leave room, over the years, for a greater purity and a deeper exploration of skin tone, its shadows and its reliefs. Through these fragments of skin and details of poses, the artist seeks to reclaim her body, to assert her femininity. These silent and inhabited women also, and above all, draw up a portrait of her relationship to the world and her condition as an artist.