I am drawn to the idea that as artists, we are the channels for art pieces to be born. That there are realms where those beings dwell and somehow get expressed through us, their unique language being brush strokes, paper cut outs, clay, colour or form. As Clarissa Pinkola Estés puts it in Women who run with the wolves, one brings “an image from the unseen world into being”. My recent work speaks of the Divine Feminine, an energy that is very much of the Earth and of the body, an energy that has been suppressed for a long time in all of us, men and women alike. I believe that our future and the future of our planet depends on us reconciling with this energy, bringing it forth into the world, and re-balancing it with the Divine Masculine. My pieces are like treasures that have been gathered from the ancient world.
My work often takes a mixed-media approach, combining drawing, painting, monotype, collage and sculpture using fabrics. I play with the boundaries between abstract and figurative, suggesting the form, keeping my work deliberately ambiguous so to preserve a sense of looking at something unknown and surprising. I have recently started to make my own inks, watercolours and gouache paints. This process is a conscious movement towards more sustainable art materials, being concerned with the environmental impacts of acrylic and oil paints.
I like to work in a spontaneous way, listening to each piece as it gets created, learning what it requires, where it wants to take me: each piece is looking for its unique sense of balance. My favourite way of working is when there is an element of accident somewhere: for instance when I find an old piece of work that I discarded a while ago, that I suddenly find interesting, and decide to work with it again. I love to create and I am always taken by the endless possibilities that making art can offer, how it can feel completely new, again and again.
Blandine is a French born artist, who works and lives in London, South Norwood. Blandine has an MA in Painting from the Glasgow School of Art, where she developed her love for painting, drawing and soft sculpture. She originally studied a BA Fashion Design Womenswear at Central Saint Martins in London, and after graduating she created a jewellery collection. Blandine organises regular art workshops around London. She is part of a collective of artists in London called BleurArt, as well as Luna Collective. She is also a Wholefoods-Macrobiotic Cook and Health Coach, and teaches cooking classes online and in person.
I am happy to work on commissions and can also organise studio visits.
If you are interested in purchasing any of my works, or if you would like to come see my studio, do send me an email, I'd be happy to answer any questions. My artworks can also be purchased on BleurArt and SaatchiArt.
You can subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
Portraits in the studio by Gregory Davies.
Watch below a short film about my studio practice
EDUCATION:
· Masters of Letters in Fine Art Practice, Painting. Glasgow School of Art, September 2011/September 2012
· Mixed-media Painting Course, Central Saint Martins. Summer 2010
· First Class B.A Fashion Design Womenswear, Central Saint Martins, London. Sept 05/June 09
· Art& Design Foundation (Distinction) Central Saint Martins. Sept 04/June 05
PAST EXHIBITIONS:
- October 2021 “The Other Art Fair” London Old Truman Brewery. Participation as part of “Luna Collective” (a collective of 4 female artists)
- 12th June-12th July 2021: “Voices of Earth” Online Group Exhibition organised by Art from Heart
- May-June 2021: “Home Takeover” Online Group Exhibition organised by BleurArt
- February 26th & 27th 2020: (INSERT FEELING HERE) Group Exhibition with BleurArt at the Old Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey
- October 2018: “The Other Art Fair”, Victoria House, London
- October 2017: “The Other Art Fair”, Old Truman Brewery, London
- September 2017: “Art in the Forest” in collaboration with Forest, Arch 133 Deptford Market Yard, for DEPTFORD X Fringe Festival, London
- March 2017: Affordable Art Fair New York, with Caiger Contemporary Art and Liberty Galleries, New York City
- March 2017: Affordable Art Fair Battersea, with Caiger Contemporary Art, London
- October 2016: The Other Art Fair, The Old Truman Brewery, London
- June 2016: The Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead, with Caiger Contemporary Art, London
- March 2016: Group Show with ArtSmart Contemporary “Launch #1 Pop-up Week” Space W10, London
- March 2016: The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, with Caiger Contemporary Art, London
- September 2015: Two people show with Caiger Contemporary Art: “Blandine Bardeau and Rod McIntosh: When Opposites attract”. Wandsworth, London
- August 2015: "Introducing" Group Show at Curious Duke Gallery, London
- June 2015: The Affordable Art Fair, June 2015, Hampstead. As Part of Caiger Contemporary Art, London
- May-June 2015: "In Conversation", a co-curated show with NOHO Artists, 7 Dials, Covent Garden, in partnership with Balthazart, London
- April 2015: The Other Art Fair, Victoria House, London
-February-March 2015: "Painting the Future", DegreeArt Contemporary Collective exhibition, Vyner Street, London.
- September-October 2014: "Precious" Deptford X, ArtHub Gallery, London.
- September 2014: "Secret Art Prize Exhibition", Curious Duke Gallery, London.
- 2013: Group Show at The Glue Factory, Glasgow.
- 2012: Group show at Mediakeskus Lume, Aalto-yliopisto, Helsinki.
- 2012: Group Show, Bermondsey Project Space, London.
- 2012: Masters Degree Show, The Lighthouse, Glasgow.
- 2012: Masters Degree Show, The Mackintosh Building, Glasgow.
- 2010: "Converse, You're here", Garage de Turenne, Paris.
- 2010: "Fluorescent Monkeys", SOLO SHOW, Beyond the Valley Gallery, London.
-2010: "Metropolis Ridiculous", Selfridges Windows Display, Oxford Street, London
PRIZES AND COMPETITIONS:
. April 2017: Selected to be published in ArtMaze Magazine, Issue #2
. August 2016: Selected to be published in Fresh Paint Magazine Issue 13, curated by Rebecca Wilson, chief curator of Saatchi Art
. January 2015: Saatchi Online Painting Showdown Competition, Long-listed
· 2014: Longlisted for the Signature Art Prize, DegreeArt.com, Vyner Street, London.
. 2014: Runner-up for the Secret Art Prize, Curious Duke Gallery
. 2012/13: Selected to be part of the Marmite IV Painting Prize catalogue
· 2009: Colin Barnes Drawing Prize, Central Saint Martins. A prize awarded in recognition of excellence in drawing
· 2009: Selected for the Central Saint Martins Press Show
· 2007: Winner of the Louis Vuitton Bag Design Competition, Central Saint Martins
