Victorine Follana had been doodling since her early childhood, but it was during a visit to the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris in the early 1970s that she discovered the work of the painter Chaim Soutine. It was this emotional shock that truly ignited her desire to explore painting. After a few years of self-study, she enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Sète from 1982 to 1987, majoring in drawing, painting, and art history. By frequenting many artists in the region and studying art history passionately, painting became a necessity for her.
Her favorite subjects are the human figure, family, and childhood, but she also intermittently delves into abstraction, which allows for great freedom of expression.
Starting in 1987, she participated in Master classes at the Talens Academy (known as "l'île aux peintres"), where renowned abstract and figurative artists, who were also professors at major art schools in Paris, led sessions. Victorine Follana had the opportunity to work with and form friendships with Robert Lapoujade, a painter, filmmaker, and writer who passed away in 1993. She also interacted with Joël Trolliet, a painter and the general treasurer of the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in Paris, as well as Thibault de Reimpré, who passed away in 2023.
Victorine Follana has continued to exhibit her works since the 1990s.
Chowwai Cheung
Fred Ingrams
Sophie Green
Day Bowman
Daisy Cook
Halima Cassell
Barbara Rae
Patrick Hughes
Bruce Mclean
Nelson Makamo
Sandra Blow
Tracey Emin
