Born in 1961 in Pasadena, USA, Franco-American artist Nina Childress is known for her eclectic and constantly evolving painting style. Childress started her artistic career in the early 1980s as the singer of the punk band Lucrate Milk, before turning exclusively to painting and joining the “Frères Ripoulin” collective. Her work draws inspiration from popular culture, high art, and personal history, employing a wide range of techniques from pop art to hyperrealism, and using vibrant, sometimes fluorescent, colors. Over the years, Childress has continuously reinvented her practice, revisiting iconic images from fashion and music and imbuing them with a playful, ironic, and sometimes provocative touch. Her large-scale portraits of female idols like Sylvie Vartan, France Gall, and Jane Birkin have become some of her most recognized works. Childress has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in France and internationally, and her paintings are part of the collections of major institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris. In 2019, she was appointed head of the painting workshop at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and in 2024, she was elected to the painting section of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, solidifying her status as one of the most influential contemporary artists in France.
