BIO

Fine Artist working with Fibres and Textiles

Valérie’s practice is rooted in the traditional craft of wet felting and the manipulation of textiles as an expressive art form.

Taking the rural environment as her inspiration, she draws on its colour, texture and form to create evocative semi-abstract landscapes rich in climate. The compositions are built in layers, hinting at what may lie beneath, and use translucency and light to create absorbing moods. These are highly textured felt pieces in which cloth is embedded and threads unravelled, as a painter with her brush.

Process has always been central to her practice, and through ongoing exploration of materials’ behaviours, Valérie has over the years perfected a unique approach to the craft. Fascinated by the organic qualities intrinsic to the medium, she works solely with natural materials such as wool, silk and linen fibres.

Valérie established her full time practice in 2014, receiving a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) award in 2021 which took her to the Netherlands to work with artist and activist Claudy Jonstra. Last year she was invited to showcase her work at Collect 2022, the International Fair for Contemporary Craft & Design as part of the QEST gallery.