Severine Dietrich

Geometric shapes display beautiful landscapes, architecture, and patterns perfectly captured within Severine Dietrich's artworks.

She is inspired by legends and her work is impeccable. Her color palette is consistent, making the work she posts on her Instagram account distinctive. As big fans of her work, we are excited to share more about her.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from and when did art first enter your life?

I come from a small village in the mountains of the high French Alps. I have always liked to draw and visit museums. The first medium I trained in is fresco, which I worked in for two years. I wanted to complete my training, so I looked for an art school. I graduated from School of Fine Art of Lyon (Ensba) in 2011. I started to work as a graphic designer, and then I worked more and more from plastic experimentation. In the end I stopped graphic design to devote myself to painting.

“I am very touched by geometric abstraction. It is a language, which speaks to me.”

— Dietrich Severine

Are there certain artists, styles, or movements you've drawn inspiration from?

My favorite artists are Geneviève Claisse, Barnett Newman, Piet Mondrian, Le Corbusier, Paul Klee, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Marcel Beuer, Rem Koolhaas, and many others! I am very touched by geometric abstraction. It is a language, which speaks to me. As you can imagine, I am very interested in architecture, Marcel Beuer for example (one of the fathers of modernism) and of course the Bauhaus movement which inspires me a lot. The interest in modular constructions and simple forms speaks to me particularly.

What recurring motifs appear in your work?

I work mainly from geometrical shapes, trying to create abstract graphic landscapes.

How much of your work is pre-planned vs. intuitive?

50/50! For each project I work a lot upstream, researching images, moods and colors, depending on the subject I want to treat. I make sketches, and I think about a series of paintings. The rest is intuitive. The colors can change as a project progresses. I specify the shapes and the rest is built little by little.

Color is a distinctive aspect of your work. How do you choose your color palette?

Indeed, the work of color is fundamental for me. I have always liked bright colors and above all I do not try to represent reality, so it gives me a lot of freedom! I choose my color palette according to the theme I'm dealing with, according to my mood as well! After the confinement, stuck in France, and with a great need to escape, which I think was collective, I made a series of paintings on the beach houses in California, so I was inspired by the colors of the Beach Lifeguard Houses.