Dards, III, 2006
Born in 1972, Valérie Graftieaux is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art of Paris and the École des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg. Her work has already been shown in numerous exhibitions in France, Germany and Quebec. She has chosen a demanding career path, supported by institutional residencies abroad and a network of private collectors.
Her photographic work, like that of drawing, works in series. It is the dialogue and the comings and goings between the different pieces of the series that materialize the questioning.
The object (artifact or natural) will generally inspire her, and allow her to access a spectrum of reflection. A network of links, connivances and extrapolations is then set up between the microcosm and the macrocosm, between the particular and the universal, between the image and the imaginary of the spectator. We find here a cabinet of curiosities spirit, from the 17th century Wunderkammer, namely: understanding the world from singular objects. It is detail and minimalist staging that characterize her work. A spirit that flirts with several fields: scientific photography, ancient photography and a plastic proximity to drawing or engraving.
However, it is undeniable that series after series, Valérie Graftieaux weaves in a singular and timeless way the subjects of time and imprint that questions our filigree humanity.
Her work has been highlighted in the following monographic exhibitions: Réversible, Galerie Christophe Tailleur, Strasbourg (2017); Espresso, Artothèque, Strasbourg (2013); Spirare, Ecole Nationale de la Nature et du Paysage, Blois (2011).