Jules Vissers, the artist behind Atelier Taftique

 In her atelier Taftique in Florence, Dutch artist Jules Vissers translates traditional textile techniques into modern artworks. Jules designs and creates hand-tufted and embroidered textile artworks, using personally selected high-quality Italian yarns. Her recent work combines a variety of techniques and materials in every piece, turning yarn and stitch into intricate tapestries, that reinterpret Florence’s ancient tapestry traditions.  She combines the hand-tufting technique – with air-driven as well as electrical machines – with other techniques such as embroidery, punch needle, felting, weaving, tatting and crochet.

Her art pays homage to nature using predominantly natural yarns and those derived from recycled fibers. All her yarns come from local factories in Florence and Prato and from the North of Italy. Jules’ love for yarn springs from its softness, the beauty of its colours and the interesting effects of combining different kinds of yarn. She tries to combine the beauty of form and colour that she sees in art and nature with textile techniques to create surprisingly contemporary images. 

She has been living in Italy since 1998 and graduated “cum laude” in Art Textiles at the Florence Art Academy. Jules is inspired by nature and the classical art that surrounds her in Italy. She is very fond of some 20th century artistic movements such as Cubism and Art Deco. By using complimentary colors and curved and geometric forms, she explores the interaction between different textures and their three-dimensional effects. Jules has in fact developed her own style between abstract and figurative works, evoking playful and intimate scenes, with a somehow mythological allure. 

She participates regularly in events such as the Design Weeks in Milan, Dubai and Eindhoven and Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art and Design. She has already received multiple awards and recognitions, most recently in January 2024 the European Textile & Craft Award 2024, given to her by the International Jury of the European Textile Academy in Bolzano, Italy. At Florence Biennale she won the President’s award in 2023 for her piece entitled ‘Specular’ and the ‘Lorenzo il Magnifico Award’ in 2021 for her piece entitled ‘Three Graces’.  Other awards are the  ICAC Art Critics Award 2022 at the Chianciano Art Biennale and the Tamara Art Award 2022 in Venice.

Jules is a member of Homo Faber, an organization that promotes European excellences in craftsmanship, and of the Isola Design Community (Milan, Italy).  She is also featured on Artemest, a platform for high-end Italian craftsmanship. Jules aims to share her passion and vision for textile art with others, and to promote the value and sustainability of artisan craftsmanship.

With regard to custom made artworks for a specific place or project, these are created at Atelier Taftique in collaboration with architects, interior decorators and private customers. This can be single large artworks for the wall but also smaller works and objects for the table. Regarding her work as a textile and fiber artist, Jules’ favourite quote is : “There are no miracles, there is only what you make”. (Tamara de Lempicka)