Chantal Joffe facts for kids

Chantal Joffe RA (born 5 October 1969) is an artist from England who was born in the USA. She lives and works in London. Her paintings are often very large and usually show women and children. In 2006, she won the important Charles Wollaston Award from the Royal Academy.

About Chantal Joffe

Early Life and Training

Chantal Joffe was born in St. Albans, Vermont, USA. Her younger brother, Jasper Joffe, is also an artist and writer. Their mother, Daryll Joffe, paints with watercolors.

Chantal studied art at several famous schools. She went to Camberwell College of Arts from 1987 to 1988. Then she attended Glasgow School of Art from 1988 to 1991, where she earned her degree in Fine Art. She later got her master's degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in 1994.

She received the Delfina Studio Trust Award from 1994 to 1996. She also won the Abbey Scholarship in 1998–1999, which allowed her to study at the British School at Rome. Today, Chantal Joffe lives in London.

Her Art Style

Chantal Joffe mainly paints portraits of women and children. Her paintings are often very big, sometimes as tall as 10 feet (3 meters). She has painted her own mother many times over 30 years. In an interview, Joffe said she loves painting women. She finds their bodies and clothes very interesting.

Joffe often uses photographs as a starting point for her art. But she changes things in her paintings to make them unique. She mentioned that the photographer Diane Arbus has been a big inspiration for her. Joffe feels that Arbus's photos show everything you could want in a human portrait.

A critic once said that Joffe paints with a natural and easy style. Her paintings might look simple or even childlike at first. But they also have a surprising and deep feeling.

How She Paints

Some of Chantal Joffe's paintings are so large that she needed scaffolding to reach the top parts. She uses big, bold brushstrokes and does not worry about paint drips or blobs. Sometimes, you can even see old outlines under the new paint. One reviewer noted that her paintings often have large, slightly uneven eyes and unique body shapes.

In 2006, an art editor described Joffe's large paintings as beautiful ways to show what it means to be a woman. Joffe often gets ideas from fashion models, photos of her friends, and the work of other artists. She also finds inspiration in everyday pictures of women and children.

Joffe's art reminds some people of Alice Neel, another artist who painted portraits. She is also compared to Joni Mitchell, a Canadian singer and artist. These artists are known for showing strong women in their work.

Where Her Art Has Been Shown

Chantal Joffe's art has been shown in many exhibitions around the world. She has had solo shows in cities like London, Milan, Venice, Paris, New York, Helsinki, and Bologna. Her work has also been part of many group exhibitions.

In 2002, she was part of a show called The Bold and The Beautiful in London. This was the first time Chantal, her mother Daryll, and her brother Jasper Joffe showed their art together.

In 2006, she won the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy summer exhibition. This award is given for the most outstanding artwork in the show. Her winning painting was called Blond Girl – Black Dress. The judges all agreed that it was a very strong and striking painting.

Joffe's work has been shown at the Jewish Museum in New York City. This includes exhibitions like Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings: Chantal Joffe in 2015. Her art was also in the 2022 exhibition Women Painting Women at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

You can find Chantal Joffe's paintings in many art collections. These include the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Jewish Museum in New York. Her art is also in public collections across the UK.

Important Awards

Chantal Joffe has received many awards for her art, including:

• The Nat West 90’s Prize for Art and the John Kinross Memorial Scholarship (1991)
• The Elizabeth Greenshields Award and the Paris Studio Award from the Royal College of Art (1993)
• The Delfina Studio Trust Award (1994–1996)
• The Abbey Scholarship from the British School at Rome (1998–1999)
• The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition’s Wollaston Award (2006)

See also

In Spanish: Chantal Joffe para niños