Françoise Pétrovitch

Françoise Pétrovitch
Françoise Pétrovitch in October 2013
Born	(1964-05-27) May 27, 1964 Chambéry, France
Nationality	French
Occupation(s)	Painter, printmaker, sculptor, jewelry designer
Awards	Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (2022)
Website	francoisepetrovitch.com

Françoise Pétrovitch is a French visual artist born in 1964 in Chambéry. She works with drawing and painting, as well as ceramics and video art.^[1]

She is known for her exploration of intimacy and adolescence through drawing and painting. Her works often depict figures—especially children and teenagers—in ink wash or oil on varying formats.^[2][3]

Recurring motifs in her work include anthropomorphic animals and a symbolic bestiary. Many of these figures, crafted in ceramic, are depicted either as disembodied heads (e.g., Fawn, 2004; Stag, 2004), seated figures (e.g., Witness Rabbit, 2013, 2015; The Sentinel, 2015), or partial forms (e.g., Half-Mammoth, 2014)^[4][5][6].

The bird is another recurring symbol, sometimes depicted lying in a hand or resting on its back^[7][8][9]. Her series Étendus features human and avian figures in sleeping positions, creating ambiguous, dreamlike imagery^[10].

Her practice often evokes a liminal state between reality and imagination, avoiding linear narrative and instead presenting enigmatic, open-ended scenes^[11].

In addition to visual art, Pétrovitch has worked extensively in publishing. She has authored and illustrated multiple artist books, including Ne bouge pas poupée (with Hervé Plumet) and Radio-Pétrovitch, as well as children’s publications such as Tu t’appelles qui ? and the coloring book Color Me.^[12][13].

She has exhibited widely in France and internationally. In 2008, her work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne, followed by a presentation at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris (2011). Further solo shows have taken place at the Musée des beaux-arts de Chambéry (2014) and the LAAC in Dunkirk (2015).

In 2013, she completed a public commission for the Chalcography of the Louvre, producing the etching and aquatint Garçon à la bouée (Boy with Buoy).^[14].

In 2015, Pétrovitch was selected to represent France in the group exhibition Organic Matters: Women to Watch at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.^[15]. In 2016, her work was featured in several solo exhibitions, including at FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Château de Tarascon, and the Espace pour l’Art in Arles^[16][17].

Her work is held in numerous public collections, including the MNAM–Centre Pompidou, the MAC/VAL, the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art (Florida), and the regional contemporary art funds FRAC Haute-Normandie and FRAC Alsace^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}.

Pétrovitch teaches at the École Estienne in Paris and is represented by the Semiose Gallery. Her works also feature in private collections, including the Salomon Foundation and the Guerlain Foundation^{[25][26][27][28]}.

• Biographical profile in the 10-year anniversary catalog of the Chamalot artist residency (Moustier-Ventadour), on issuu.com.
• "Françoise Pétrovitch" on semiose.fr, the website of Semiose Gallery, which represents the artist in Paris.