Born in Israel in 1989 to a French father and an Israeli mother, Nathanaëlle Herbelin has always been drawn to make work that reflects her position within and between the two cultures. Her works contain subtle hints—both in subject matter and form—as windows into a world imbued with a quiet melancholy. Herbelin encourages the viewer to slow down, as a way of embracing the intimacy involved in viewing art.
Read MoreShe has developed a formal style unique within the contemporary tendency towards figurative painting. Certain patterns and colours appear more defined than others in the softened memories that she so delicately captures. Earth tones give the works a quality evocative of a reverie and her loose brushwork recalls post-impressionist techniques. Herbelin has cited Les Nabis—a group of young painters active in Paris during the late 19th century—as a central influence in her practice. Most notably, she takes inspiration from the stylistic poetry that art historical figures such as Pierre Bonnard applied to domestic scenes.
Herbelin obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2016, during which she was invited to participate in an exchange program at The Cooper Union, New York (2015). In early 2024, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris will organise a presentation dedicated to Herbelin's paintings in dialogue with selected works from the museum's collection. Other recent solo and group exhibitions include French Institute of Tel Aviv (2022), Umm Al Fahem Art Center (2021), Yishu 8, George V Art Centre, Beijing (2021), Passerelle Art Center, Brest (2020), Bétonsalon, Paris (2019), Abbaye Sainte-Croix Museum, Sables d'Olonne (2019), the Beaux-Arts Museum of Rennes (2018), Collection Lambert, Avignon (2017) and Fondation d'Entreprise Ricard, Paris (2017).
Text courtesy Xavier Hufkens.
