Today’s feature is Diane Benoit du Rey, a French painter whose practice develops at the intersection of perception and the presence of light.
Born in 1989, she studied painting at an art school, and her path was shaped through residencies in France and abroad; after graduation, she chose to settle in Paris. The year 2023 was significant for Diane, as her work was presented in the major institutional exhibition Hypnose at Espace Richaud in Versailles. In 2025, she presented her work at Art Basel — the largest art fair in the world — in Paris and Miami Beach.
At the core of Benoit du Rey’s painterly expression lies an attentive exploration of light phenomena, not only as visual events but also as experiential states. Light, whether natural or artificially produced, becomes a catalyst through which she uses lines, colors, and movement to create optical perception reflected in abstract and minimalism.
Her practice positions her work within a contemporary lineage concerned less with depicting reality and more with registering perceptual residues — where light functions not as subject, but as a structural force.
What sets Diane apart, in our opinion, is how her works and painterly expression generate a deep visual and sensory power of light, one that creates the sensation of being present in the moment, immersed in its atmosphere and spatial presence.
Following this perspective, we asked Diane to reflect further on her technique, process, and relationship with light:
What materials and techniques do you typically work with?
I paint in oil. I work with glazes, layering successive coats of paint to achieve the desired texture and depth.
How did your interest in exploring light develop within your practice?
At the beginning of my practice, I used light as a pictorial tool to carve out the image and sculpt forms, allowing volumes to emerge through contrast with shadow. I spent a great deal of time painting light and the colors it reveals, until I felt the need to focus almost exclusively on this subject.
Are there colours or tonal relationships you find yourself returning to over time?
When I am asked about my use of color, I often feel somewhat hesitant, as I have little distance from my own choices, which are largely intuitive. I do feel, however, that I am drawn to working with chromatic relationships, particularly pairs of complementary colors. I often organize my paintings around one or two saturated hues, which I highlight and support with a broader palette of nuances and half-tones.
Could you describe how a painting begins, from the initial impulse to the development of the work?
To begin a painting, I need to be certain of an image, or a series of images, that I imagine unfolding through paint. I need to have held it in mind for a long time, to have allowed it to mature, and to feel that it will find its fullest expression in painting — and nowhere else. When this vision becomes clear, I know that I can begin to paint.
Are there upcoming projects or exhibitions you’re currently working toward that you’d like to share?
I am currently working on several upcoming projects. I will soon have the opportunity to present my work at the Park Hyatt Paris–Vendôme. In the spring, I will also present my paintings in the context of a double solo exhibition in Lille and Marseille, at Galerie Pauline Renard and Galerie Diego Escobar. Other projects are also in progress.
More of Diane’s work can be found online:
In the gallery below, we have included several of her works
