Hizelaya, painter

Hizelaya was born in Roubaix in 1956. Her father, Philippe Derville, a painter (lepeintrederville.com), introduced her to painting at a very young age. Forced to support herself, she entered the workforce early and learned the trade of mail-order copywriter. She quickly moved to Paris where she founded a direct marketing agency and a renowned trade show.

In 2000, she suffered a professional setback and decided to resume her career as a painter. For many years, Hizelaya has been captivated by the Basque Coast, where she has held around twenty exhibitions: figurative paintings on sand, collages, and paintings on plexiglass. She works on two themes: the Basque Country, its traditions and landscapes, and the evolution of women between 1930 and 2030.

In 2015, she resumed her studies at the Beaux-Arts de Paris workshops in the contemporary painting department with Gonzalo Belmonte. In her final year, she discovered the monotype technique, or printmaking, and dedicated herself to it for three years. In 2016, she initiated a street art collective.

In 2024, Hizelaya began exploring sensualist painting. This movement, in the tradition of the greats—Chaim Soutine, Paul Rebeyrolle, Joan Mitchell—prioritizes empiricism, sensitivity, and the perception of sensations and emotions. It also follows in the footsteps of Eugene Leroy, a friend of her father in the renowned Roubaix School. She divides her time between her Parisian studio and her studio in Urrugne, in the Basque Country.