Claire Duval

Biography

Painter, mandala artist.

Claire Duval in front of two mandalas in the window of Restaurant La Coquille, Montpellier
Window of Restaurant La Coquille · Montpellier · 2025

After growing up in Africa and graduating from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Claire Duval settled in Montpellier. For ten years she led collection-based workshops and guided tours at the Musee Fabre, while developing a body of work centred on the mandala.

The paintings in her book are acrylics on wood. Mandala, a Sanskrit word for circle, evokes for her universal order and the still centre around which our lives keep moving: an invitation to harmony, meditation, and inner peace.

On the mandala

“ The circle represents the stillpoint, the dimensionless and peaceful centre within us. Around this centre, life whirls in its vast kaleidoscope of forms and colours. ”

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Path

Exhibitions

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  • 2017: Restaurant Folia, Chateau de Flaugergues (December)
  • 2016: Autumn exhibition
  • 2015: 3–28 November, 6 rue du Levat, Montpellier
  • 2013: Terre nourriciere biotech centre, Collias (July–December)
  • 2012: Places aux Arts — 16 June, La Canourgue
  • 2011: A75 tourism space, Le Caylar (September)
  • 2011: Conference centre, Cap d'Agde (May)
  • 2010: Espace Concordance, Domaine de la Madrugadora (Herault) — June

22 exhibitions on record

Museum education

  • · Regular workshops introducing children to the collections
  • · Projects for students from kindergarten to high school
  • · Thematic workshops around temporary exhibitions
  • · Creation and delivery of guided tours
  • · Research on artists and their time to prepare sessions

1997–2007: museum educator, visual arts — Musee Fabre, Montpellier (France).

Teaching

1995–1998: visual arts teacher — middle and high schools, Montpellier.

Training

BA and MA in visual arts, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Moved to Montpellier in 1995.

Practice

Technique
Acrylic on wooden panels.
Motifs
Mandalas, landscapes, colour studies.
Formats
From sketchbooks to large wall pieces.
Availability
Works and commissions on request.