Kerstin Paillard was born in Paris, France and raised between Stockholm, Sweden and the South of France. She received a BFA in 1999 from the Contemporary Art School, Villa Arson, Nice, France and a Masters in Art History in 2005 from the University of Montpellier, France. She lives and works between Nice, France and Stockholm, Sweden, and exhibits all over the world. Since childhood, she has felt divided between the introspective, solitary culture of the vast Swedish landscapes and the more emotive character of the French. These dual notions play out in her work, which is meant to facilitate individual introspection through the use of abstract forms and a limited color palette. Paillard works using only pure pigments, mixed and smeared with her fingers and hands directly onto linen canvas, to create floating fields of deep and expressive color. She is interested in ideas of interiority and how the individual relates to the collective in an increasingly isolated and fragmented world. Paillard taps into a nonverbal reflection on one’s surroundings, showing her viewer how natural and built environments can affect the subconscious and play a role in one’s sense of belonging.
