Biography

GENEVIEVE BONNETIER JOST

French Naïve Artist

Genevieve Bonnetier Jost was born in 1944 in Compiegne, France, she now lives in Canada. Her father was a forester, and the young Genevieve developed a love of nature from early childhood. She was also exposed to the Alsace tradition of decorating furniture and painted floral motifs, an art form dating back to the Middle Ages.

When, without any formal training, Jost began to paint as a hobby, she first applied her design to furniture, subsequently painting jewelry as well. In 1965, after viewing an exhibition of naïve art in New York, she decided to explore this stile in her own work. In 1967 she moved Quebec, Canada and began to paint in oils and acrylics on panels. By 1978 she was painting on a regular basis.

The main inspiration for Genevieve Jost’s style is the simplicity of every day life. A common theme in her paintings is the notion of capturing the instant of holding still a particular moment in time. Her figures – men, women and children – are often painted in the process of making a gesture or taking up an attitude, recalling the poses assumed by the subjects about to be photographed. Art writer Jacques de Roussean has describes Jost’s works thus:

The scenes (she) portrays, on the threshold of reality
always give the impression that she lives in a time-plane
slightly different from our own. That is the Surrealist
vision which we can discern in almost all her paintings.

Jost’s figures are generally shown in landscape settings, surrounded by leafy trees and an abundance of flowers. Within her landscapes the artist frequently repeats motifs such as floral elements, leaves and groups of animals.

Speaking of Jost’s unusual treatment of perspective, Jacques de Roussean observes:

Most of the paintings remind us of stage scenery. By
layering her perspective in a way that gives priority to
the images in the middle ground, the artist offers the
viewer an arrangement that resembles (a theatrical set).
In the foreground, pictorial elements are rare or
non-existent. In the background, people or other elements
constitute the scenery, frequently fading into an area
without precise definition.

The similarity between the perspective of Genevieve Jost’s landscapes and that in theatrical scene painting recalls the approach pioneered by the early masters of naïve art, most notably Herni Rousseau. Another major influence on Jost’s style has been the work of the American Primitives. (*)

Genevieve Jost has had several solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions in Canada and elsewhere. She is represented in collections in France, Great Britain, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and the United States.

Gallerie Je Reviens is the exclusive representative for Ms. Jost in the United States. We are privileged and proud to exhibit and offer Genevieve Jost’s art for your viewing pleasure and appreciation.

(*) Text from “Naïve Art In Australia, Canada and Europe” by Vasa Carapic