Miss Van (born in Toulouse in 1973) has been developing a figurative style of painting since the 1990s, in which the female figure holds a central, ever-ambivalent place—masked, disguised, staged. Her characters inhabit a hushed universe, tinged with eroticism, dreams, and theatricality. Inspired by Baroque painting, burlesque culture, and classical icons, she creates portraits that blend ritual, masquerade, and psychological introspection.
Made-up bodies, veiled faces, ambiguous postures—each work explores the tension between appearance and interiority. In vaporous, romantic compositions, her figures exude a strange, burlesque allure, carried by a subtle mix of sensuality, softness, and emotional gravity.
A self-taught painter, Miss Van built a distinctive visual language from the start. After beginning in urban space, she gradually developed a refined practice of painting on canvas, marked by stylistic variations yet a consistent atmosphere and signature gesture.
Her work has been shown in numerous institutions and international galleries: MOCA (Los Angeles), CAC Málaga, Von der Heydt Museum (Wuppertal), MACRO (Rome), Saatchi Gallery (London), and in major galleries including Magda Danysz (Paris, Shanghai), Dorothy Circus (Rome, London), Jonathan LeVine (New York), and StolenSpace (London).
