"Beach" by French artist Jean Jullien at a solo exhibition in London

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Winter is coming, and most of the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere are doomed to see beaches caressed by the hot sun only in photographs and in sweet dreams. A series of fun, minimalist prints by Jean Julien will cheer you up and add a touch of color to a cloudy November evening.

The work of the French artist Jean Jullien is quite diverse, but, perhaps, to the general public he is known primarily as a graphic designer, which is quite logical, because it was graphic design that Jean studied at both Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art in Great Britain. … Within eight years after moving to London, the artist has amassed an impressive portfolio of commercial and creative projects. Most of his works are characterized by simplified forms, laconic color palette and rather daring subjects.

With his new project La Plage, which has been exhibited at the Beach London gallery since September 29th, Julien has focused on the seaside and the fun situations that take place on the beach. "If you think about it, the beach is a rather strange place, from the point of view of the limits of decency," he notes, "and yet everyone here is free as a bird."

Julien's flat aesthetics blend perfectly with the natural simplicity of the beachfront landscape. The artist says: “I love beaches for how minimalistic they are - just sand, sea, sky and leather. All this is very soft and colorful at the same time. It was important for me to try to express it graphically. The result is a series of simplified, but bright and lively images, generously seasoned with subtle humor.

After two painting exhibitions that were recently held in Paris, Julien limited himself to prints in the Beach series. The images, originally made with a brush on paper, have been processed in a graphics editor to add saturation to the colors. The artist also set himself the task of using as little black outline as possible, which is very characteristic of the rest of his work.

“It’s important for me to try something new in every project, so in 'La Plage' I tried to get rid of my favorite technique - dark strokes,” explains Julien. Instead of completely abandoning black, the designer used it for a specific purpose: “Pictures with black outlines are frankly humorous. Those without black are more reserved. They were harder for me, but they also brought more satisfaction."

Obvious or subtle, all of these witty illustrated stories resonate immediately with anyone who has spent time on the coast. “I often paint on the beach, I love that everyone is so naked,” admits Julien. Apparently, some of the nearby beaches can easily serve as a concentrated source of inspiration, especially for someone who appreciates the quirks of human communication and anatomy as much as Julien: “It's great to sketch there. Low and tall, thick and skinny bodies; pronounced play of light and shadow; the way the colors change during sunset is just the dream of any artist."

Like the illustrations by the Italian artist Gottardo, Jean Julien's work once again demonstrates that illustration can and should be simple.