BIOGRAPHY - PRESENTATION OF THE ARTIST

Geneviève Brice, who is of Flemish origin, was born in Paris. Her father was a company director and her mother a soprano.

From a very young age, she matured under the influence of her great uncle, Eugène Ionesco, and drew her creative energy indirectly from the avant-garde theatre.

After finishing her secondary school studies, she trained as a designer and started a career in Haute Couture at Jean Patou

But when she married a tropical agricultural engineer, she had the opportunity of discovering the authenticity of art brut in the heart of rural Africa. She found the basic elements of her inspiration in Chad, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Upper Volta.

 Her meeting with President Pompidou in Yaounde, and subsequent action, stimulated the development of artistic exchanges between France and Cameroon, and encouraged her to collect documentation consisting of archives, sketches and notes on the numerous techniques of the country that enabled her to achieve a distinctive and highly personal style.

Thanks to this experience, when she finally returned to Nice, she actively participated in the running of an Arts Centre in the PACA region as a member of its board of directors for several years. The time she spent in the studios devoted to different disciplines proved to be very enriching for her artistic caree

 
When she left this contemporary centre, she established herself at Place du Château des Grimaldi in the old village of Cagnes sur Mer.

On the occasion of the cultural exchanges between Cagnes and Monaco, and within the framework of the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldis, she exhibited her works at the Maison de l'Amérique Latine, under the presidency of Prince Albert.

In 1999, she set up her own Arts Centre, adjoining her studio, where she can be seen working every afternoon and where she permanently displays many of her works.