JULES VISSERS | Figurative Abstract TAFTIQUE

JULES VISSERS | Figurative Abstract TAFTIQUE

Jules Vissers is a Dutch artist living in Italy who translates the ancient tradition of textile wall art into contemporary artworks. Her tactile works are inspired by nature, classical art, early 20th-century art styles, and the country where she has lived happily for decades. Jules Vissers graduated cum laude with her Textile Master studies at the Florence Fine Art Academy. She collaborated with several specialist workshops during the training, such as the Fondazione Arte Della Seta Lisio in Florence.

Her craftsmanship is fully expressed by the technique she uses for her tapestries: tufting. With this manual technique, Vissers makes specific scenes and patterns come to life. It also allows her to create relief, height differences, and textures, making her tapestries exciting and caressable.
In January 2020, she started her own atelier Taftique (a self-thought term that combines tufting and its Italian translation, ‘Taftatura’), in the historical center of Florence. Here she produces tufted and embroidered tapestries in a unique artistic style between abstract and figurative. She regularly refers to classical art themes, which she then translates into modern artworks.

In her artistic journey, Jules has developed her own style between abstract and figurative works. She likes to evoke playful and intimate scenes with a somewhat mythological allure in the latter. Her pure abstract works explicitly explore the interaction between varying textures and their three-dimensional effect. From May 2022 onwards, Jules is present with her atelier Taftique in the prestigious guide ‘Homo Faber’ that proposes a selection of artistic craftsmen on a European level.
She uses local, high-quality yarns for her artworks, predominantly searching for recycled yarns and deadstock materials in the nearby textile district of Prato. In 2021 Jules Vissers took part in the Florence Biennale. An International Jury assigned her the Lorenzo il Magnifico Award, 4th place in the textile art category. The winning work ‘Three Graces’ is inspired by the three women-goddesses from the famous Botticelli painting ‘La Primavera.’

In May 2022, Jules participated at the Tamara Art Exhibition at Palazzo Scuola Grande San Teodoro in Venice, where her work ‘Female Figure’ won the second prize at the Tamara Art Awards organized by the Tamara de Lempicka Estate. This tapestry was also selected by the Chianciano Contemporary Art Biennale, where it is on exposition during the month of August 2022. At the Fuorisalone event during Milan Design Week, Jules Vissers presented her work at Palazzo Francesco Turati. Curator Nicole Uniquole had selected three large, framed tapestries for Masterly, The Dutch in Milan – taking place from 7 till 12 June 2022.

The selected works are ‘Embrace,’ a figurative tapestry that conveys strong emotions. The two other presented tapestries are ’Deconstruction in blue’ and ‘Labyrinth’ and have an abstract style. Jules’ artworks are all numbered on the back and signed by the artist on the Taftique label.
Next September, Jules will expose her work ‘Peace, Please!’ at Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna, Italy, at the first edition of the Pallavicini Art Prize. This work was made in response to the war in Ukraine and inspired by a renaissance sculpture of a praying man at Palazzo Bardini in Florence. Then, in October, she will participate in the collective art exhibition ‘Cavalli d’Autore 2022’ at the Museum Santa Maria Della Scala in piazza Duomo in Siena, Italy. With this art exhibit, the city of Siena celebrates its traditional love for horses.