Chaotic Control – Camille Gendron’s Search for Structure in Chaos
Written by Anne van Bree
Published on July 29th, 2025
Camille Gendron is a French artist whose work explores the boundaries between art and science through the use of spray paint. With a background in art history and a deep connection to nature, she combines intuition, research and technique into a visual language she calls chaotic control.
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Anne van Bree: A phrase you often use is ‘esthétique chaotique’ — what does it mean and how does it relate to your sources of inspiration?
Camille Gendron: Chaos theory is a science of processes that focuses on the analysis of complex behaviors. During my experimentations on the use of aerosol paint, I was struck by the presence of chaos in the dynamic system of spraying. If you make a point you will never be able to reproduce exactly the same one. But it is also something that surrounds us every day and that inspires me. I am very stimulated by the observation of natural and artificial dynamic structures such as the ocean, waves and currents, clouds, weather phenomena, architecture and mathematics. Thinking about the forces of life leads me to visualize an aesthetic grammar and stimulates my imagination. It’s a source of evolution for my production but there is also something uncontrollable in the need to create and innovate. It is like an inner force that needs to express itself.
Anne van Bree: How would you describe your approach to spray paint as a medium?
Gendron: In my artistic work, my observation and analysis skills have allowed me to have a singular approach to the use of spray paint. The advantage of aerosol is that it removes the contact between the tool and the support. I started from this observation to develop my artistic identity through technical and theoretical research in order to bring a new look on the specificities of the tool. I would say that my work is halfway between science and art because I realize both research and artistic creation. It is a duality that is also felt in the aesthetics of my paintings. Either I paint free textures, or mathematical and controlled compositions. I like to use the term “chaotic control” to define my practice. If you try to make a pencil stand up in the palm of your hand, that’s chaotic control. The idea is to stabilize a dynamic that doesn’t go where you want it to go. So I bring in randomness to get interesting textures while controlling the composition to obtain internal synergy and a harmonious structure.
Anne van Bree: What experiences shaped your development as an artist?
Gendron: I grew up on the island of Noirmoutier on the west coast of France. It is a beautiful and rough place that lives to the rhythm of the seasons and the weather conditions. Something fun there is that we have two ways to reach the mainland: a bridge and a submersive road. In winter, the bridge can be closed if the wind is too strong, but if it’s low tide you can use the road under the ocean. I spent a large part of my childhood outdoors enjoying the beach, fishing, sailing, watching the waves and storms and I have kept a strong connection with nature.
Painting and sculpture are commonly practiced in my family and since I was little I always liked to draw and create. During my university studies in art history and archaeology I started to get closer to graffiti and I quickly met my boyfriend Matt Zerfa. He had already been graffiting for a long time and we haven’t stopped painting together since. We support each other in the development of our artistic approaches and he has an important place in the realization of my projects.
Anne van Bree: Have you ever made traditional graffiti, like tags and letters?
Gendron: In my beginnings, I used an abstract lettering that gradually gave way to texture games. I started graffiti in 2016 with people who already had many years of practice. As I knew it would take me time to reach their levels, I decided not to follow all the codes of classic graffiti and to focus on certain aspects. It made my friends laugh and they liked to tease me by telling that I hadn’t finished my mural!
Anne van Bree: You work a lot with spray paint. Why do you prefer this medium?
Gendron: The pressure and dispersion generated by the spraying process is a real playground for me and aesthetically, I’m really in love with the vaporous effect that it creates. Furthermore, I see sometimes the spray as an extension of my body and the energy that I lack. I suffer from a neurological disease called Hypersomnia which causes me huge fatigue. I was diagnosed in 2020 but it has been affecting me progressively since 2014. There are good days as well as very bad. So, I find it funny that the medium I prefer is a tool that also has its own energy.
Anne van Bree: Why do you mainly work in black and white and how do you apply that approach across different media?
Gendron: I like to work with a gradient from black to white. It is a tone that I find relaxing while giving off a certain inner strength. To me, colors are easily associated with things like blue for the sky and warm colors for joy. With black and white I focus more on the texture itself. No matter the medium, I have pretty much the same approach by the using of randomness and geometry. It’s also something that I look for with software like Photoshop and Blender that I use to imagine new textures, prepare future paintings and work on the animation of existing ones.”
Anne van Bree: What role does research play in your work? And will it ever be finished?
Gendron: Research is an integral part of my creation method. It can be conscious, as when I carry out tests with precise measurements, but also more theoretical. In 2018, it was Alberti, a 15th century Italian theorist, who made me realize that the disappearance of the contact between the spray can and the support opened a new field of study on the dynamics of spraying and its impact on the gesture and the result. Then, I was able to deduce principles related to the tool (distance, orientation, force, time) and the results (pressure, accumulation, concentration, dispersion).
More recently, Wolflin’s “Fundamental Principles of Art History” allowed me to take a step back from my production and classify my murals into categories. This organization has highlighted the evolution of my style and the aspects I wish to develop. I am also interested in a broader subject in which I compare the aesthetics of contemporary graffiti and the Baroque movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in Western Europe. But this one will require time and a particular work, so, my research is far from being finished.”
Anne van Bree: What dreams and ambitions do you have for the coming years?
Gendron: Regarding my artistic practice, I have great projects for the coming months but I can’t really think long term because of my health. I dream of understanding the origin of my illness and being able to get rid of this hellish fatigue, but it’s part of my daily life for now. So I’m doing things one by one with a maximized organization and I just hope to be able to continue as long as possible.
Anne van Bree is a journalist from Breda with a passion for public art that began in her teenage years. Accompanied by her camera, she explores new places by capturing the artwork on their walls. Her work focuses on uncovering the stories behind street art and graffiti, as well as the vibrant culture they represent.