Julia Dalcastagné on Building Paintings from "Ugly/Beautiful" Tension
Julia Dalcastagné, a Brazilian artist, seeks to provoke her audience through her "ugly/beautiful" aesthetic, which merges vibrant colors with dark elements. Her artistic journey began in the 1990s, shaped by cartoons and a pivotal year spent in London at the age of 12, where she discovered British humor. Her teenage fascination with realism guided her path, while college broadened her artistic perspective, and a year in Italy refined her technical abilities. Influences on her work include Tim Burton, Ayami Kojima, Goya, and Yoshitomo Nara, alongside authors like Eça de Queiroz and Edgar Allan Poe. In her oil painting "Dovunque Al Mondo," she depicts a single body with two heads, representing individuality. Dalcastagné's creative process incorporates image research, sketches, music, and titles that emerge after thorough exploration.
Key facts
- Dalcastagné is a Brazilian painter whose work pairs vivid color with dark subject matter under the term "ugly/beautiful"
- She spent a year in London at age 12, encountering British humor shaped by harshness and sarcasm
- A year in Italy studying illustration and comics added technical skills to her practice
- Her visual references include Tim Burton, Ayami Kojima, Goya and Yoshitomo Nara
- Literary influences include Eça de Queiroz, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Edgar Allan Poe, Hermann Hesse and Milton Hatoum
- The oil painting "Dovunque Al Mondo" depicts a single body with two heads, distinct flowers, candles, balanced lantern-shaped leaves and a lion
- She develops compositions through multiple sketches and reference images before committing to a painting that may occupy weeks
- Titles are assigned last, after research, sketching, tonal exploration, painting, revisions and music
Entities
Artists
- Julia Dalcastagné
- Tim Burton
- Ayami Kojima
- Francisco Goya
- Yoshitomo Nara
- Eça de Queiroz
- Charlotte Brontë
- Emily Brontë
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Hermann Hesse
- Milton Hatoum
Institutions
- AATONAU
Locations
- Brazil
- London
- United Kingdom
- Italy
Sources
- AATONAU —