| Isabelle Collin Dufresne | |
|---|---|
Ultra Violet in her New York City studio, 2008 |
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| Born | 6 September 1935 La Tronche, Grenoble, France |
| Other names | Ultra Violet |
| Occupation | Actor, Writer, Artist |
Isabelle Collin Dufresne (born 6 September 1935, La Tronche, Grenoble, France; stage name Ultra Violet) is a French artist, author and former colleague and superstar of Andy Warhol.
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Isabelle Collin Dufresne was brought up in a strictly religious family but rebelled at an early age. She was instructed at a Catholic school.[1] In 1951 she left France to try her luck in New York. After a meeting with Salvador Dalí, she became his "muse” and pupil and then became an artist in her own right. In the 1960s, Dufresne began to follow the progressive American art scene including Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist.
She eventually came into contact with Andy Warhol and his Factory. In 1964 she selected the stage name Ultra Violet at Warhol's suggestion because it was her preferred fashion—her hair color at the time was often violet or lilac. She became one of many "superstars" in Warhol's Factory and played multiple roles in his films. Towards the late 1960s, she was "dethroned" in favor of Viva, a more recent discovery.
In the mid 1970s, she published her autobiography, “Famous for 15 Minutes: My Years with Andy Warhol. This autobiography was edited extensively and partially translated from French to English by New York penthouse roommate Natalie Durkee. After a comprehensive review of the book in the New York Times, it was published worldwide. Afterwards, she returned to France; in 1990 she opened a studio in Nice and wrote a book detailing her own ideas about art, “L'Ultratique”.
In 2007 she gave a retrospective lecture at the New York Institute of Technology in New York City.
She created a series of works of art as her personal tribute to September 11, which were displayed in the exhibit "Memorial IX XI" at Queens Community College, opening on Friday, September 9, 2011.
For the last 15 years Ultra Violet has been a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2]