Julien Marinetti

Who is Julien Marinetti?

Julien Marinetti is a French artist known for merging painting and sculpture into a single practice. Born and based in Paris, Marinetti works across sculpture, painting, engraving, and drawing, using each medium as a way to explore color, gesture, and form.

Julien grew up in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, close to the École des Beaux-Arts, and later studied figure drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Early on, Marinetti focused on classical and religious subjects, reworking them through realism, figuration, and abstraction. A meeting with painter Jean Dewasne in the late 1990s pushed his work in a new direction, sharpening his interest in structure and surface.

In 2004, Marinetti returned to sculpture and created Doggy John, a bronze French bulldog that became his signature form. He models each sculpture in clay, casts it in bronze, and then paints directly onto the surface. Rather than treating the sculpture as a finished object, he uses it as a support for painting, allowing color and gesture to unfold from every angle. He later expanded this approach to other recurring figures, including skulls, teddy bears, ducks, penguins, and pandas.

Marinetti's work draws from pop art and neo-expressionism but remains rooted in physical process and craftsmanship. His sculptures reward close viewing and movement, revealing new details as the viewer circles the work. Exhibited internationally in galleries, fairs, and public spaces, Doggy John has become an instantly recognizable figure and a defining symbol of Marinetti's hands-on, color-driven approach.

Marinetti has shown in major cultural centers including New York, London, Singapore, and Shanghai, and his work is held in collections worldwide by private collectors, institutions, and cultural foundations. For many years, he has supported charitable organizations focused on children affected by illness and disability, often donating works discreetly and without public attention.