Juno Albertine
Raised in the quiet countryside of northern France, Juno Albertine developed an early need to make things. What began as a way to fill long weekends gradually became a disciplined visual practice, shaped by graphic design training and a lasting sensitivity to composition, colour and balance.
She works exclusively with collage, constructing each image from hand-painted paper that is cut, layered and assembled piece by piece. Her works begin with a rough sketch, which she then refines digitally before translating the image into painted paper. “I don’t really trust my drawing skills, but I trust my eye,” she explains. Rather than using pre-coloured paper, she paints her own, allowing for precise control of colour while preserving visible brushstrokes as part of the composition. Each piece is broken down into layers by colour and carefully cut by hand using knives and scissors. The final collage is assembled slowly, with cut edges, material texture and traces of the process intentionally left visible as an integral part of the finished work.
Cutting Colour
Colour sits at the centre of Juno’s practice, not as decoration but as a structural tool. Each work is preceded by extensive colour testing, with small shifts capable of altering the balance of an entire composition. “The way colours respond to each other is central to my work,” she explains, noting how even subtle changes can throw a piece off balance. Working with acrylic gouache allows her to fine-tune these relationships while maintaining an organic surface, where brushstrokes and material irregularities remain visible. Straight lines and sharp angles define her visual language, a constraint that began as a practical necessity and has since become a signature, creating a deliberate contrast with the sensitivity of her subjects.