At Home with Fabienne Verdier

Near Chambly, in the Val-d’Oise, not far from Paris and its frenzy. There, in a small town that feels quite like the English countryside, time stands still. The trees have taken on their fall hues: they are ablaze. It is here, in this peaceful patch of nature, far from the clamor of the city, that Fabienne Verdier has chosen to live and work since her return from China. “We settled here in 1993,” reveals her husband, Ghislain. “We built the studio with our friend, the architect Denis Valode, ten years ago now.” Its size is on par with Fabienne’s painting—monumental. We enter the large pit, plunged into darkness illuminated only by an overhead light. On the eve of her exhibition at the Waddington Custot Gallery, the place is empty. Only a few crates remain to be sent to London. Half studio, half chapel, and guarded against all distractions, this ascetic space allows the artist to escape from the world and create her vast canvases, which these days are held in the greatest collections, such as those of François Pinault or Hubert Looser. Before entering the studio and tackling her material, Fabienne admits to spending long hours researching and reflecting, surrounded by…