Born in 1961 in Pasadena (USA), lives and works in Paris. Coming out of the alternative punk scene and then the Les Frères Ripoulin collective, she has been…
Born in 1961 in Pasadena (USA), lives and works in Paris. Coming out of the alternative punk scene and then the Les Frères Ripoulin collective, she has been painting since 1983. Her works are in the collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Mamco in Geneva, Mac-Val and numerous Frac. Nina Childress is a painter born in 1961 in Pasadena (USA), living and working in Paris. Coming out of the alternative punk scene and then of the collective Les Frères Ripoulin, she has not ceased to paint since 1983. Her works are in the collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, the Mamco in Geneva, the Mac-Val and numerous Frac. 531—Untitled (Father Christmas and skinny chick) is part of the Jouets series (1994–1997). The late 1980s sound the death knell of painting, but Nina Childress carries on in this medium, through what she calls a “conceptual and idiotic” painting based on objects (Tupperware, sweets, soaps…). Later, Nina Childress again allows herself to paint the human figure, but by way of figurines and toys. Father Christmas and the chick, usually rather round, are here articulated with wire. They seem to fall from the sky, and their shadow merges with the multitude of flowers that make up the background. Then a young mother, Nina Childress takes as her models objects from her everyday life and initiates a sharp critical reflection on the models of representation offered to children.