Colette Justine
| Colette aka Colette Justine | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Conceptual art, Painting |
Colette Justine better known as Colette and from 2001 Colette Lumiere is a multimedia artist ( painter , sculptress, installation maker ) known for her pioneering work in performance art, street art and her use of photography constructed photograph. She is also known for her work exploring male and female gender roles, different guises and personas and for her soft fabric environments where she often appears as the central element.
She was born in Tunis, Tunisia, of French nationality, and grew up in Nice, France before becoming a naturalized American citizen. She lives and works in New York City
Her first performance/photo work took place in 1970 when she had herself photographed as "Liberty Leading the People" after Delacroix. She presented this work to the public in 1972. In an installation, composed of white parachute silk, embedded lighting, [lightboxes, lavender-painted floors inscribed with her personal code and audios, she posed as Liberté. This tableau vivant could also be viewed from the windows of the gallery. Fred McDarrah photographed it for the Village Voice .'The Village Voice January 1973.
By 1973 Colette had completed the opus of her work : With white silk ruched parachute silk and embedded lighting and no visible furniture she turned her living space into a "Minimal Baroque" sculpture and included herself as part of it. The same year, Stefonatty Gallery NYC had just opened its doors and offered the artist a solo show. The painter Malcolm Morley, and the conceptual artists Les levine, Dennis Oppenheim, Vito Acconci, Bill Beckley and Roger Welch also exhibited at Stefonatty. In her first solo show there, sixteen larger-than-life, three-dimensional paintings resembling her, titled "the Sandwomen" were showcased. The office of the gallery was completely transformed into a dreamlike environment, in the style of her living space. In this room she posed still everyday for the duration of the exhibition as the "Sleeping Gypsy" after Henri Rousseau and titled it "The Transformation of the Sleepy Gypsy without the Lion". For the Norton Museum, in Miami, Florida, 1974, Colette posed as Persephone in "Persephone's Bedroom" in a billowing parachute dress. The environment created for that theme was made up with what became her trademark, muted treated rushed soft fabrics In this space, she embedded into the fabric walls a multitude of mirrors. In an adjacent room her street works were exhibited.
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