Identity scaffolding Print

Justine Formentelli spent her childhood living in the Caribbeans, the island of Reunion and Morocco. Decades after, the bright light and vivid colours of these places still influence her palette. After 11 years in the United States where she studied Illustration and worked for Harper’s Bazaar, a year traveling around the world and some time in Switzerland, Justine is now based in London with her family. She recently graduated with distinction with an MA from City and Guilds of London Art School. The aim of the program was to redefine and contextualise her practice, which gave a new direction to her practice. Figurative for a long time, her paintings gradually became more abstract, while remaining loosely informed by elements of the natural world.
She has participated in numerous exhibitions in the United States and Europe and has works in Soho House and many private collections around the world.
Justine mostly works on paper and canvas and has recently been developing sculptural pieces. Her latest work is a profound exploration of inner landscapes through linear and abstract forms. Her bold gestures and layered elements form abstract compositions that possess a vivid energy. In an almost calligraphic mode, her paintbrush balances the intersection between intention and chance. This use of an intuitive process alongside controlled approaches, make for unique and stunning investigations. As she reflects on our mysterious interior architecture, her combination of shapes and varied textures are suggestive of the fragile formations within us all. In each piece contrasting forms and colours are caught in motion, loaded with a sense of happening. Connections and relationships are created, and we are drawn into a state of mind as well as body.