Makers Mixtapes - Jules
Jules Milhau is a painter brought up in the heart of the ancient city of Nîmes in the South of France. Cradled by the rhythm of the ferias, from a young age he rubbed shoulders with artists, actors, bullfighters, singers and flamenco dancers. His world is profoundly Mediterranean, and the frenzied rhythm of the taconeo marked by the dancer’s heel, accompanied by guitars, never leaves Jules when he paints, a ritual that is part of his creative process.
‘It’s difficult to talk about Jules Milhau’s work without mentioning his astonishing precocity. Not only because this precocity is remarkable, but because it raises direct questions about what an artist is, and how one becomes one.’ – Agnès Jaoui
Jules has an exhibition from October 19th to November 5th in Spain.
Excerpt from Issue 10:
Words by Jules Milhau. Photography by Ruth Ribeaucourt
I grew up in the city of Nîmes, spending most of my life living between our family mas and the Royal Hotel, which was owned by my grandmother. The hotel was a place where a lot of artists, painters, musicians and filmmakers stayed and I grew up in this permanent feria (party) atmosphere, so to speak.
Our family mas is tucked away in the countryside in an area called the Costières de Nîmes. I was six when I moved to the mas, but it has been in our family since 1962. When my family left Algeria after the war broke out, they settled between Nîmes and Corsica. There are four generations living together now under one roof at le mas. My great-grandmother paints here and my grandmother has her atelier here too. Opposite, my Aunt Celine has her apartment and atelier and my cousin, who is an incredible pianist, also lives with us. A few years ago we also had my great-great-aunt, who was a poet and writer. This is a space for living but also creating. There is always writing, painting, music and of course lots of cooking.
Nîmes is a city of great beauty that inspires me immensely because it is a city of art. You can’t help but appreciate it when you’re a painter. There are extraordinary Roman monuments, like the Arena and the Maison Carrée, and then there’s the le Carré d’Art, designed by Norman Foster, which is an architectural marvel.
Nîmes is quite unique as it has a special culture because of where it is situated. The Cévennes are to the north, the Camargue is to the south, Provence to the east and the Hérault to the west, where there are many Spanish immigrants. Nîmes is at the epicentre of this melting pot of cultures. There were many pieds-noirs like my family who immigrated here, which has contributed to a tangible Hispanic cultural mix that includes the feria, bullfighting, gypsies and flamenco.
You can find out more about Jules and his work on his instagram
Read Jules's full story inside Issue 10 of FAIRE
Coming out December 2023
And in case you missed out on our other FAIRE playlists - we created ‘The end and the beginning’, slowdown sounds as a celebration of both endings and glorious new beginnings.
“I had spent many years pursuing excellence...now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.”
And in October we created and shared the Faire Fall playlist…..
“To be true to myself, to be the person that was on the inside of me, and not play games. That’s what I’m trying to do mostly in the whole world, is to not bullshit myself and not bullshit anybody else.”
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