[Juliette Vaissière](https://www.cohart.com/juliettevaissiere/profile) (b. 1995, France) received her BFA from the University of North Texas in 2018, and her MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2020. Working primarily in oil, Vaissière draws inspiration from her childhood in the South of France and the French Baroque and Rococo period as a means of processing and understanding modern-day consumerism. 

Vaissière's work is included in collections across the United States and Europe. In March of 2025, she presented her first solo show in the South of France, and subsequently exhibited in the NYC Spring edition of the Affordable Art Fair with Harsh Collective.
She currently lives, works, and teaches in Shrewsbury, MA

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#### Tell us about your artistic journey

I’ve always loved working with my hands; some of my happiest childhood memories are gluing yogurt pots together in my room or beading with my mom. I grew up in the South of France near Avignon with an American mother and French father, and for most of my life I’ve felt very divided between two different cultures, and my need to try and fit into both simultaneously. Growing up, artmaking allowed me to create something that felt entirely my own. I moved to Texas for undergrad, then to NYC where I received my MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2020. Grad school was a pivotal point in my practice; I learned so much over the course of two years that I feel like I’m still unpacking it all. Over the past five years, I’ve focused on building a studio practice that feels authentic to me. Earlier this year I had my first international solo exhibition in France and exhibited with Harsh Collective at the NYC Spring Affordable Art Fair. It was really incredible to see the community and energy at the fair, and see collectors interact with the work in person. I’m currently working on a new body of work exploring themes of modern isolation and consumerism through fairytale-inspired landscapes.

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#### What first drew you to make art?

Growing up in Europe, I was surrounded by historical artworks (paintings, sculptures, architecture), that were just part of everyday life. I remember going to church when I was very little and spending the entire service staring at the massive 17th-century paintings on display above the altar. I was obsessed with the idea that they were painted hundreds of years ago, yet they were still so lifelike and powerful. I was a very “artsy” kid, but those paintings really shaped my understanding of what art, and especially painting, could be.

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#### What inspires your work, and where do you find your ideas?
My work tends to be a direct response to my day-to-day interactions, social media, and our current cultural moment. I think the future feels unstable for a lot of people right now, and I’m interested in trying to capture the feeling of **“the calm before the storm”.** My paintings are a response to this subconscious unease, the isolation that comes from obsessive digital self-curation, and being chronically online. I’m constantly monitoring my surroundings for those strange, surreal moments that might spark an idea for a painting. I really enjoy thinking about composition, and how placement or color/value usage can make something mundane feel fresh and engaging.

#### What makes your artistic approach unique?
I don’t think it is particularly unique. My technical approach is very traditional, and I like the thought that I’m continuing the legacy of a long line of painters who were all using essentially the same tools/methods as I am. I spend a lot of time thinking about composition and watching my surroundings, and eventually, an idea that feels really exciting to me will pop up. I work in a pretty intuitive way, and although I'll sometimes do a quick thumbnail sketch, I generally just sit down and start working out the general composition in the underpainting before starting to block in with color. I work primarily from my imagination, and I love having the freedom to tweak the elements or atmosphere of a painting to match whatever is in my head at that moment.




#### What does a typical day in your studio look like?

I generally try to get any administrative tasks done in the morning and then set aside the afternoon to paint. When I get frustrated or stuck, I like to flip through my art books to see how other artists have tackled whatever I’m currently facing. I get a lot of inspiration just sitting on the floor of my home studio, going through the work of painters I admire. I have a studio bunny named Frosty who keeps me company, and I like to have music or artist interviews on in the background to listen to while I work. I usually work on one or two paintings at a time, but never more. I get a little obsessive over what I’m currently working on, and I find that if I switch to something else halfway, I often lose interest in the first project. I’ve never been someone who could paint for 8 hours straight, but I also get irritable and antsy if I haven’t been in the studio for a few days so I try to maintain a healthy, consistent daily studio practice.

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####  How has your artistic voice evolved since you started creating?


Interestingly, I find myself going back to the same motifs and subjects I was painting in undergrad or even in high school, except I now have a much better idea of why I’m interested in those subjects, their historical significance, and a better understanding of where my work fits in the broader contemporary art world. For a long time, I would find things that inspired me and paint them, but I didn’t understand why, and I lacked the awareness and technical skills to put it all together into something compelling. I first started painting greyhounds a decade ago. They’ve since found their way back into my current body of work, but in a much more meaningful, powerful way. It’s validating to know that as I grow and learn, I can start to do my concepts justice and bring them to the attention of a broader audience.

#### What role does experimentation play in your practice?

There needs to be an aspect of play and discovery for the work to stay exciting. It’s so easy to get comfortable, but ultimately that leads to the work feeling predictable and stale. I don’t consider myself particularly experimental, but I enjoy finding new ways to incorporate mixed media into my work, manipulating values and color, or working on an extra-large/small scale outside of my comfort zone.  I also really enjoy plein-air painting as a complete flip from working from imagination. I like the pressure of having only an hour or two to capture what’s in front of me as accurately as possible. It’s a mental break from constantly thinking about what I’m putting down and evaluating it, and I instead get to trust my instincts and put marks down as accurately and quickly as I can. I’m painting a lot of imagined landscapes in my studio, so my plein-air practice also has a direct positive influence on my technical ability to create believable places.






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#### How does your cultural background or life experiences influence your work?



Growing up in the South of France had a huge impact on my work and my trips back home to visit my family are still a big source of inspiration. It’s such a cliché but it can be hard to fully embrace the atmosphere and qualities of a place when it’s all you’ve ever known. I’ve always loved history, and I have so many childhood memories of exploring medieval castles and ancient Roman ruins. I didn’t fully understand how important those places were to me until I moved to Texas. Moving halfway across the world gave me the clarity to really digest the beauty of where I grew up. As a result, most of my work is set in a kind of melancholy in-between space that I hope is universally accessible to the viewer. 

#### What's the most challenging part of being an artist?

Financial security and the logistics of maintaining a consistent studio practice while staying afloat in today’s world. Skill and dedication don’t guarantee financial viability or success, and I’ve had to justify my choice of career to the people around me more often than I can count, which can feel isolating and discouraging. That being said, painting is the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted to do. I’m so incredibly lucky that I get to paint every day, and I’m scared of falling short when I’ve spent so long working towards this. More than disappointing myself or the people around me, I’m scared of not pulling my weight and not making the work. In the end, that’s my only job, irrespective of personal life or struggles. I don’t want to look back and regret all the paintings I never made.

####  What do you hope people feel or think when they see your work?
I really don’t think about other people’s perception of the work while I make it, but once it’s complete, I love seeing how people engage with it outside of my studio. Most of my paintings are social commentary, and there’s often a satirical or humorous side to them. It can be discouraging to see people take the work at face value and be dismissive, but that makes it even more special when a collector sees my work and really connects with it and finds it as funny as I do. I’m incredibly grateful to the amazing gallerists I’ve worked with and the collectors who choose to take my paintings home.


#### What advice would you give to someone just starting their artistic journey?
Make the work you want to see in the world. Don’t become so burdened with the “why’s” that it slows down your creative output. See as much art as you can, and build up your technical skill through mindful, conscious practice. Listen to podcasts and interviews with other creatives and surround yourself with books and images that inspire you. I highly recommend Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber (full of great fundamentals for building your artistic career) and the Artist’s Handbook by Ralph Mayer (for all your material and technical questions). Try and meet other creatives, go to openings, open studios, and artist talks in the area. It can be easy to become isolated when you are in the studio alone most of the time. And most important of all, be persistent. Keep showing up and making the work, even if it’s just for an hour a day. Your available time and output will fluctuate, but you have to keep going.

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#### What excites you most about where your art is headed?
Over the last two years or so I’ve become a lot more in tune with the work I’m making. I’ve learned to hone in on my concepts better and I’ve simultaneously gotten more confident in my ability to translate my ideas onto canvas. I’ve also been able to consistently devote more time to my art practice. Perhaps as a result, I’ve seen a large increase in interest in my work with more opportunities to exhibit, take on commissions, and share my work with a broader audience. It’s been really exciting and a little surreal. I also just moved into a bigger space, so I’m looking forward to making some large-format paintings, which is out of my comfort zone, but I think will be really fun.

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Juliette Vaissière, French-born painter exploring modern consumerism through Baroque-inspired oils, exhibited across the US and Europe.


Spotlight: Juliette Vaissière on surreal calm in chaotic times

Spotlight: Juliette Vaissière on surreal calm in chaotic times

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