|
|---|
HOME
andy warhol
damien hirst
gisela colón
jaehyo lee
james verbicky
jean-michel basquiat
joan miro
jylian gustlin
karim ghidinelli
lori cozen-geller
luc leestemaker
maggie hasbrouck
marc chagall
matt devine
michael kalish
michael kessler
michael shemchuk
miya ando
monika steiner
pablo picasso
richard erdman
richard roblin
roy lichtenstein
rufino tamayo
valerie daval
VALÉRIE DAVAL
Valerie was born in Falaise, Normandy, but during her childhood her family moved to several different places in France. Living in Limousin, south France, and then in Brittany, she retains strong memories of these various places - woods, animals, walks outdoors, seaside – influencing her artwork until today.
Valerie started painting when she was a child, and took part in various painting workshops. After moving to Sarthe, she signed in with Guy Brunet’s workshop, and got in Le Mans’ School of Fine Arts in 1986, where she got acquainted with artists who impressed her, like Roger Blaquière or Gina Pane.
After graduating, she began a visual research work, which took her through various stages working on portraits and mythology. Whether real or imaginary, the attraction for portraits was not so much anatomical, but came from a fascination with their plastic dimension and history. “A unique color and gesture spring from each of us.” She draws her inspiration from her memory guided by the feelings she had in front of the landscapes, the people and even the animals she encountered. “My work is also influenced by myths. The stories we find in the origin of each civilization inspire me and are reflected in my own history. As part of our collective memory, myths bring us together.”
Because she likes switching from very small to very big sizes, like some kind of pictorial gymnastics, her repertoire goes from large paintings like the ‘monumentoiles for the street’ - four by three meter paintings for outdoors shown in various French and German cities - to miniatures like the 4 by 8 inches landscape series ’40 paysages’.
Attracted by contemporary dance, she also likes to do live show sketches of dance performances. She is fascinated by the work of Pina Bausch or Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui: “There are splendid, touching and alive choreographers who give desire for creating! I’ve already had the opportunity and the luck to draw dancers of the company Marie Lenfant and others in the show "May B" by Maguy Marin in 2002. It was an exciting work.”
Curious and passionate by nature, she also worked on theater sets, frescos, street art projects and performance shows, further diversifying the foundation for her paintings.
The place where she lives usually has a strong influence on her, and her painting has changed since she has lived in Paderborn, Germany, for example, where she was a member of the ‘Raum für Kunst’ artist group.
Since 2007, Valerie lives and works in Los Angeles.