R EVERE — A luxuriant overgrowth of blue, red, teal, and pink petals and fronds appeared this month on the walls at Amaya , a new residential building along Salt Street in the new (and currently stalled) Suffolk Downs development. Over 16 days, French muralist Julien Colombier and an assistant transformed 2,700 square feet of wall into a veritable jungle inspired by native plants such as cardinal flower , coral honeysuckle , and blue wild indigo . Colombier, who is self-taught, has had exhibitions and painted murals around the world — from Brussels to Tokyo to New York.
His artworks blend the brashness of graffiti, the bright palette and elemental forms of Henri Matisse , and the natural abundance of Henri Rousseau . Where to find him : www.instagram.
com/juliencolombier Advertisement Age : 52 Originally from : Paris Lives in : Paris Overnight sensation : “It took me 20 years, to make a living with it. I was painting, but nobody really cared. I was doing all kinds of jobs.
” Then in 2010, he changed up his style, introducing a black background, which amped up the optics of his already potent palette. Chanel hired him. Colombier’s career took off.
“At that point, everything connected together in one month. And I was working alone for 20 years,” he said. Studio : He works in all scales in his Paris studio.
“It can be on paper, canvas wall, huge wall,” Colombier said. “After things that you try in big, you say, ‘Oh, it’s interesting. I never did that in sma.