Jean Paul Donadini France, b. 1951
"The painter holds, as a definition, a way of expressing himself without words. It is a great silent expression through colorful gestures." - Jean Paul Donadini
Jean-Paul Donadini creates paintings and mixed-media works that transform the tools and materials of painting into the artwork itself. Known for his celebrated "Brosse Arrêtée" series, Donadini freezes the gesture of a brushstroke in time, combining oversized paintbrushes, dense pigment, draped textiles, and vivid color into sculptural compositions that blur the boundary between painting and object.
For more than four decades, the Paris-based artist has explored movement, materiality, and process through a practice that is both playful and technically refined. His works have been exhibited internationally and are recognized for their bold use of color, physical presence, and inventive approach to contemporary abstraction.
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Jean Paul DonadiniBrosse Arrêtée BleueMixed media on canvas51 x 35 in
129.5 x 88.9 cmView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniBrosses Arrêtées Arange Sur BleuMixed media on canvas57 x 35 in
144.8 x 88.9 cmView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniBrosse Arrêtée Pink Sur Toile de JouyMixed media on canvas35 x 51 in
88.9 x 129.5 cmView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniGesture Orange & Pink CircleMixed media on canvasheight 47 1/4 in round
height 120 cm roundView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniBrosse Arrêtée Néon JauneMixed media on canvas51 x 35 in
129.5 x 88.9 cmView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniBrosse Arrete’e OrangeMixed media on canvas35 x 45 in
88.9 x 114.3 cmView More Details -
Jean Paul DonadiniPalettes ArrêtéesMixed media on canvas35 x 51 in
88.9 x 129.5 cmView More Details
Jean-Paul Donadini (b. 1951, Troyes, France) is a French contemporary artist whose work expands the language of painting into three-dimensional space. Working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, Donadini is best known for his distinctive "Brosse Arrêtée" (Stopped Brush) series, in which the act of painting itself becomes the subject. Oversized paintbrushes, thick accumulations of pigment, draped textiles, and vividly colored surfaces transform the familiar tools and materials of the studio into dynamic sculptural compositions.
Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts in Troyes, Nancy, and Paris, Donadini has lived and worked in Paris since the mid-1970s. Over the course of a career spanning more than four decades, he has developed a highly recognizable visual vocabulary that combines technical precision with humor, experimentation, and a fascination with materiality. His works blur the boundaries between object and image, presenting painting not as an illusionistic window but as a physical event.
Central to Donadini's practice is an exploration of gesture. Sweeping brushstrokes are frozen in time, pigment becomes sculptural matter, and folded fabrics function as both support and subject. Rather than depicting the process of painting, his works preserve it. The resulting compositions highlight movement, color, texture, and scale while drawing attention to the physical relationship between artist, tool, and surface. Vibrant fluorescent pigments often collide with monochromatic fields, historical textiles, or architectural forms, creating a tension between spontaneity and control.
Donadini's work has been exhibited internationally in cities including Paris, London, New York, Miami, Chicago, Dubai, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Istanbul. Recent presentations include exhibitions with Mark Hachem Gallery, Art Miami, Contemporary Istanbul, and Art Basel Miami. His work has appeared at major international art fairs and is held in private and public collections worldwide.