Cécile Maulini

L'Almanach 23 : Cécile Maulini

Born in 1977 (Saulieu, France). Works and lives in Dijon.

A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure d'Art de Bourges (2002), Maulini has spent a number of years producing work based on a system of pictural composition evocative of Fra Angelico’s Annunciation. The system allows for all kinds of variations in landscape and ornamental elements which betray the influence of Georgia O’Keeffe, abstraction and Italian Renaissance art. This compositional strategy, indebted in part to abstract painting, has enabled Maulini to build up a body of work which challenges notions of taste and expertise, and which deploys a colour palette incorporating both tangy pastel tones and garish colours.
She says she’s kept in mind two observations made to her by Xavier Douroux (1956-2017), who co-founded the Consortium Museum in 1977 and remained its director until the year of his death: “Making pretty pictures is a must”, and “It’s badly painted, so it’s painted well”.
"L’Almanach 23" brings together six previously unseen works Maulini has produced over the last two years.

— Éric Troncy