Karen Joubert Cordier (born 29 August 1954) is a French-American artist born in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

(France).

Early life

Joubert Cordier's father was a

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the Péreire brothers, brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the ...

navy captain and her mother was a model. Joubert Cordier had opportunities to explore the world and meet many legendary people, including Coco Chanel,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

, and Leopold, King of Belgium.

Career

Upon completion of her studies at the Academy Charpentier in Paris, she was counseled by a famous art dealer, Daniel Cordier. Her first show was at the Gallery Beaubourg in Paris, and was followed by a permanent exhibition at the Georges Pompidou Museum. She has received praise from art critic

Bernard Lamarche-Vadel Bernard Lamarche-Vadel (16 July 1949, Avallon. – 2 May 2000, La Croixille in Mayenne) was a French writer, poet, art critic and collector. Life The son of a veterinarian, self-taught, his tastes for art and literature earned him a paternal a ...

, Jean-Pierre Thébault, Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macao,Consulat General De France a Hong Kong et Macao. (2009). "Karen Joubert-Cordier", p.1. Consulat General De France a Hong Kong et Macao. and Henrietta Tsui, the Director of Galerie Ora-Ora.Ora-Ora International Limited. (2009). ''Karen Joubert Cordier'', p. 1. Galerie Ora-Ora, Hong Kong. Joubert Cordier has embraced the surrealist and disturbing side of Dalí, the colours of

Le Douanier Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Arcimboldo Giuseppe Arcimboldo (; also spelled ''Arcimboldi'') (1526 or 1527 – 11 July 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish and books. These w ...

and the modernity of

Robert Combas Robert Combas (born 25 May 1957, Lyon) is a French painter and sculptor. He lives and works in Paris. He is widely recognized as a progenitor of the ''figuration libre'' movement that began in Paris around 1980 as a reaction to the art establish ...

Style

Her art draws on such movements as

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

, and

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

. She deals with themes of travel, nature, and plant life. Joubert Cordier tends to use the entirety of her canvases, filling them with detail.

Collections

''Le Dechainement de Vegetal'' (translation: ''the unbridled vegetation'') is an accumulation of details of flowers and plants exploded by the use of fluorescent colours and freedom of composition. Her ''L'Exotism'' series features canvases full of plants and animals.

La Narrative Figurative

More recently, Joubert Cordier's paintings are inspired by her travels. Being the daughter of the Chief Purser of the liner ''France'', she is widely traveled and has crossed the Atlantic Ocean 49 times. Each of her journeys is a "true source of inspiration". Her work starts on a point where she sketches cartoonlike images of days that pass by. She completes these in her workshop where her brushes will interpret all the knowledge she had assimilated throughout her travelling, transporting the eye into different worlds. The collection could be subdivided into two genres:

French Prestige

This series draws on Joubert Cordier's travels as a child. These encounters marked a unique impression on her and have reinforced a unique vision in her illustrative work. Joubert Cordier translated her experiences with collage of memories, from glamorous Europe to the wave of Pop art and icons of the time.

Romantic Rivera

This title greets the arrival of English and American residents in search of a quiet place at the beginning of the last century. It is the Golden age of "Cote d'Azure" that Joubert Cordier feels. She expresses this feeling in colours of the quiet blue of the sea, the intense and warm red of the sun and especially by Sienna dust which stresses the romantic, nostalgic and sometimes disturbing atmosphere of these subjects in black and white. In these peculiar settings, she introduces people who are the stars in business, movies, arts and novels.

Pop

Joubert Cordier's Pop collection is a reminiscence of the comic strips of the childhood days, the American dream, and the chewing gum societies. From economic intelligence to Andy Warhol's Marilyn, from Mickey Mouse to Superman, from Norman Rockwell to Bill Gates, her world is colourful in pure pop art tradition.

Collectors

Joubert Cordier's works are collected by the Georges Pompidou Museum in Paris, which houses the largest collection of modern art in Europe. Her works are also collected by many others, including former French Prime Minister Jean-Francois Girard, entertainer

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

. Many of her paintings are now collected and showcased in national museums, including the Art Modern Museum in Toulouse, and are in the hands of international collectors.

Exhibitions

2010 *Shanghai "My City Our Dreams" Gala Auction, Shanghai, China; 5 May *Lifeline Express "The Beauty of Nature" Charity Painting Exhibition, Pacific Place, Hong Kong; 16 - 19 Apr *Christine Gallery, Seoul, South Korea 2009 *Alife Fresco 7th Anniversary, Tokyo; 28 August File:Jap 3.jpg, Under the limelight File:Alife_feat._Karen1.jpg, Streetview File:Jap 2.jpg, Alife in the nighttime File:Jap 4.jpg, Interior decoration *Festival de Cannes; 20 May *Le French May, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong; 1 – 7 May File:Fm11.jpg, Speech for Joubert Cordier File:Fm2.jpg, Joubert Cordier File:Fm3.jpg, Opening of French May featuring KJC *Galarie Marie Ricoo, Calvi; 11 – 30 April *Les désordres du plaisir, Musée des abattoirs, Art Moden Museum, Toulouse (new donation Daniel Cordier); 24 Jan – 19 April 2008 *Hong Kong International Arts and Antiques Fair, Hong Kong *Fresco on wall: CERAM Business School, Sophia Antipolis *Museum of Perfume, Grasse *Gallery Take 121, Nashville, USA *Happy Art Gallery and Rotshield Bank, Cannes; 8 Oct *Galerie Geraldine Zberro, Paris *Galerie Onega, Paris *Chicago Sister cities international, Chicago, USA; 8 Oct 2007 *Galerie Pelissier, Nice *Grand Hotel St. Jean cap, Ferrat *Galerie de l’eveche, Vence 2006 *Raffles Museum, Singapore *Ode to Art Gallery, Singapore *Negresco Hotel, Nice *Kieba Gallery, Vence *Karement Karen College Nikide, St Phalle 2005 *Dream and Passion, Singapore *French Affair with Singapore, Singapore *Villa Durazzo, Santa Margarita, Italy *Les Abattoirs, Art Modern Museum, Toulouse *Beaubourg Gallery, Vence *Negresco Hotel, Nice *Château Ste Roseline, Draguignan *Cultural Center, Roquefort les pins 2004 *Business Center, Nice Airport *Galerie Loumani, Valbonne 2003 *La Verand’anne, Gstaad, Switzerland *Referencing at Georges Pompidou Library *Fifth Gallery, Paris *Galerie de l’eveche, Vence *SNCP Champs Elysees, Paris 2002 *Cultural Center, Roquefort les pins *L’Abbaye, La Colle sur Loup *Mas d’Artigny, Vence 2001 *Gallery Aurora (William), Shanghai, China *Navy Museum, Le Havre *Mas d’Artigny, Vence *Negresco Hotel, Nice *Tatina Tournemine Gallery, Paris *Beaubourg Gallery, Vence 2000 *Chateau des fleurs, Marianne and Pierre Nahon, Vence *L’Ile en terre Gallery, Vence 1991 - 1999 *99: L’Abbaye, La Colle sur Loup *98: Chateau Str Roseline, Draguignan *98: Consulat du Canada, Chicago, USA *96: New Eastside Art Works, Chicago, USA *96: Nicole Gallery, Chicago, USA *94: Majestic Hotel, Cannes 1980 - 1990 *89: Art Honction Nahon, Nice *88: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris *87: Galerie Beaubourg, Paris *86: Henry Clew Foundation, Mandelieu Permanent exhibitions * Les Abattoirs, Art Modern Museum, Toulouse * Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris *Galerie Onega, Paris *Navy Museum, Le Havre *Galerie Marie Ricco, Calvi *Happy Art Galerie, Cannes *Ode de Art Gallery, Singapore

Products

Karen x Feria Design Closet has produced a line of products, including perfume (in collaboration with Givenchy), handbags, porches, keychains and T-shirts.