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Artist to Watch: The Ethereal Canvases By This Emerging French Talent Explore the Elusiveness of Memory

Djabril Boukhenaïssi’s haunting mixed-media works will be on display in two upcoming group shows in southern France

By Jacoba Urist
Abstract painting with arches and a purple color palette, featuring a ghostly figure and swirling patterns in the background.
Djabril Boukhenaïssi, Le cloître, (2025). Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim

Abstract images, blurred figures, and traces of raw canvas create suspension between fiction and reality in the works of French artist Djabril Boukhenaïssi. His filmy violet-, blue-, and umber-toned paintings depict atmospheric scenes steeped in artificial light to mine the concept of memory. “The idea is to understand what we do when we re-create memories, because I think that it is so close to what you are trying to do when you make a painting,” says Boukhenaïssi.

The painter, who holds a philosophy degree from the Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis as well as an MFA from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, was drawn to the subject matter for personal reasons. “I was afraid of losing someone and thinking about how I will remember them,” he says.

Person standing in front of a large abstract painting with purple and beige tones in a gallery setting.
Djabril Boukhenaïssi in front of his painting Marche Nocturne (2025). Photo: STEVIA NDOE, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MARIANE IBRAHIM
Portrait of a man in yellow seen through a divided window, with purple frame and a decorative background motif.
Djabril Boukhenaïssi, Silence, 2025. Photo: STEVIA NDOE, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MARIANE IBRAHIM

To achieve this reverie, Boukhenaïssi carefully layers oil paint and pastel, beginning each work with an ink drawing on paper as a reference point. “I may then sketch some of the canvas, mostly for the figures.” When the oil paint is completely dry, he adds pastel to the tableau to achieve translucence. Key to his method is erasure, smudging areas of his paintings with a turpentine rag to introduce an element of chance. “I don’t control it at all,” he explains. “It is like a game.”

Painting of a person with long hair sitting on a sofa, reading with books nearby, in soft pastel colors.
Djabril Boukhenaïssi, Tes Trente Ans, (2025). Photo: FABRICE GOUSSET, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MARIANE IBRAHI
Abstract painting of a deep purple vase with yellow background and hints of blue, blending textures and colors in a unique style.
Djabril Boukhenaïssi, Ton bouquet,(2025). Photo: Fabrice Gousset. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

Following a recent breakout exhibition of his illusory landscapes at Mariane Ibrahim gallery in Chicago, Boukhenaïssi has two group shows in southern France—the first of which, at the art center MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain (through May 3), investigates the elusiveness of memory.

Abstract painting of a person reclining on a deck chair, surrounded by muted colors and a soft, dreamy atmosphere.
Djabril Boukhenaissi, Marche Nocturne, (2025). Photo: FABRICE GOUSSET, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MARIANE IBRAHIM

The canvas on view at the ADIAF triennial at Marseille’s Musée d’Art Contemporain, opening April 4, reflects another through line in his oeuvre: a love of literature. “I was working with Virginia Woolf’s book The Waves, trying to understand how she spoke about the disappearance of the memory of France,” he says. “The novel is built around the idea of how a group of friends remembers one of them who has died.” By translating Woolf’s themes, Boukhenaïssi shines a light on the meaningful beauty of the gradual erosion of detail.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue in the section “Artists to Watch.” Subscribe to the magazine.