Biography
Ciou, was born in Toulouse in 1981, she actually works and lives in her home town , after living in Bruxelles and Paris.
She succeeded to gain a relevant place in the world of contemporary pop art and lowbrow, at a very young age . The exhibit that gave her international visibility was in 2004 at the Flux Factory gallery in New York City with the group show » Cute and Scary » with confirmed lowbrow artists. From there she went on to show in Amsterdam at the Kochxbos gallery, Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, California, Portland, Roma , Berlin, Seattle with her fist solo show » Mysterious flowers » in usa at the gallery Roq La Rue in late 2010,. She’s Actually working on the third solo show at the Kochxbos gallery in march 2013 , and to the first solo show in the Gallery of the museum, » La halle st Pierre » in Paris, june 2013 . The show in the museum is included to the Hey part 2 international exhibition.
In the media, the art and life of ciou was on Dutch national Tv, VPRO for the international Sarah’s Barbaren documentary. Also she made her first book in 2009 » Chat siamois » with the french editor Venusdea.
Suspended between dream and nightmare, her paintings consist of a base made of a collage of old papers, taken from old medical books, dictionaries, and nature manuals, where she uses acrylic and ink; creating her own personal mixed media . Her Influences are diverses : the american vintage culture from the 30′ to the 70′ , the victorian style and the european barocco too , however she is focused on the japanese culture and japanese traditional and contemporary art . Her style is characterized by a line of great expressive force and a language where the power of color and deformation of shapes combine to make her stroke unmistakable . Ciou creates her own « necro-kawai » cosmology of characters mainly centered around witch-y nature burlesque girls and their strange animal companions. Her new works feature florescent psychedelic colors as a foil for her obsessive black line work. Her darkly charming works are creepy in a very playful way, a little bit of sweet and a little bit of sour in a friendly and dangerous world .
Publications
Ciou hails from Paris, France. Her work features the admittedly well worn standard of spooky girls and their animals consorts, however Ciou’s unapologetic punk style (reminiscent of teenage notebook scrawls dialed up to 11) breathes a new brash life into the theme. Her sweet and sour heavy metal nymphs live out their wild carnivalesque fairytales on found vintage papers, taken from old medical books, dictionaries, and nature manuals. Her line-work is by turns thickly layered like decadent rocker girl eyeliner and then meticulously thin and ornate like stitchwork. Ciou has exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Toulouse,Berlin, Los Angeles, Rome and Barcelona. This is her first US solo show.by Kirsten Anderson
French artist Ciou creates mixed media works on paper and canvas featuring her own « necro-kawaii » cosmology of characters mainly centered around witch-y nature girls and their animal companions. Her darkly charming works are creepy in a very playful way, reminiscent of the drawings the cool, bad girls would do in high school on their notebooks in between sneaking out to smoke clove cigarettes behind the school. Her new works feature florescent psychedelic colors as a foil for her obsessive black line work.- Kirsten Anderson for Hi fructose art Blog, USA
« Suspended between dream and nightmare, her paintings consist of a base made of a collage of old papers where she uses acrylic and ink, expressing a technique that brings to mind the one typical of traditional tattoo. The result pertains to an imagery overlooked by quotations from the sacred texts of any time and country, Japanese culture, radical Primitivism and Art Nouveau.Charming, passionate and sometimes angry, Ciou is one of the most original and representative artist of the last years. A painter who, like few others, managed to impress on her canvas, the meaning of our time. » by the Mondo Bizzarro Gallery Rome, Italy
« Since Ciou’s exquisite art caught our attention. Since then she delights and surprises our gallery’s audience. She Brings us highly skilled dark – but sweet! – visions that are truly inspiring and breadth taking. Everytime when her new works come in we are happy, Ciou Rules!!by KOCHBOX Gallery, AMSTERDAM
« KOCHXBOS (1e Anjeliersdwarsstrat 3) has mounted an exhibition for Ciou (France) titled « NYMPH ».The more 3D stared at her work the more is seemed familiar. However, the only artist’s name that came to mind was William Blake who is better known as a metaphysical poet of the 18th century who just happened to be an accomplished etcher as well. What is the connection? I guess it is the bizarre and unexpected nature of the imagery that related to Blake.
Even more interesting is the fact that half the show is in b/w (Blake, of course, only worked in b/w) and the other half color…and the latter work could not be more so. The colors are vibrant and sometimes ever so sweet. The b/w pen and ink drawings are whimsical in a sense where the color work comes across like a friendly nightmare. » Daniel Gould’s art critic from Amsterdam »
- » Valeur Sûre de la scène Lowbrow made in Europe, Ciou ne se contente pas d’enchaîner les expositions d’envergure internationale, elle annonce également la sortie de son premier livre d’illustration : « Chat siamois », savoureux condensé d’humour noir dont les textes habilement signés de la plume de Guillaume Bianco, épousent on ne peut mieux l’univers fantastique et délicieusement cauchemardesque de cette artiste décidement remarquable. » Alyz Tale, Elegy Magazine, Paris
» A Few years ago, two strange little nymphs- facetious, yet determined- walked into our Paris gallery and demanded that we take the step to the other side of the mirror…. to the heart of their creator’s world, a universe both dark and wonderful. any resistance would have be in vain, Ciou’s sumptuous drawings, in India ink, and the Dazzling colors of her paintings had conquered us : there was no way back, the pack was sealed » By Effi et Laurent owner of ART’s FACTORY Gallery, PARIS
I was intrigued -and instantly attracted- when I discovered Ciou’s paintings and illustrations. The Toulouse-born, Paris-based, artist manages to conjure up a world that is both eerie and sensual, gentle and frightening. The richness of her work is intense and riveting. It is made of multiple layers, combining several aesthetics that have influenced her and made her the woman she is today. Ciou envisages ambiguity and ambivalence as key human traits and I don’t think anyone would disagree. Her work expresses something that we all share, regardless of our culture, social background or education. She taps into hidden energies and impulses that leave us feeling bare and exposed. In that sense, her images have a deeply human and universal quality. by Philippe Pourhashemi for Diane Pernet » Shade View of Fashion »
