An email written by the US-born English artist Chantal Joffe to the British writer and cultural critic Olivia Laing in April 2016 sparked a friendship anchored by joint interests and shared insights that has now been turned into a new book, Painting Writing Texting.
“I have been reading your book The Lonely City: The Art of Being Alone and I wanted to write and say how very good it is,” wrote Joffe. “I discovered Henry Darger’s work about 15 years ago. I am so interested in how you write about him and [Edward] Hopper, [Andy] Warhol and [David] Wojnarowicz.”
The new book includes ten essays by Laing, who identifies as non-binary, interspersed with a chronological sequence of paintings by Joffe dating from 2016 to 2025. The text and images dovetail, reflecting the people, places and milestones in both of their lives.
Chantal Joffe's Olivia in the Silk Coat (2025) Courtesy of Victoria Miro and MACK
“Painting Writing Texting means a lot to me—to gather together these essays which become a kind of portrait of me, by Olivia, and of our friendship,” Joffe tells The Art Newspaper. “More than that, though, the making of the book itself was an insight into how Laing works, the rigorous thinking that goes into every decision, which is always so evident in their writing.”
Laing in turn astutely dissects Joffe’s art, noting in the essay ‘A Different Door’: “What’s beautiful to me is the intensity of her regard. It’s like she scrapes off some sort of toxic outer layer, a blank plastic. She allows her sitters to possess themselves, to be lovely, idiosyncratic, intelligent, mortal, their eyes wide, wrapped in a daydream or looking boldly back.”
The pair clicked because the alliance is predominantly about making, writes Laing, and the “career aspects that can loom so large with fellow practitioners—deals and prizes, exhibitions and awards—can be set firmly in their proper place, on the periphery”. The key is working with someone who excels in a different discipline, Laing adds.
Joffe's Self-Portrait (2018) Courtesy of Victoria Miro and MACK
“You cut to the chase of what you’re really interested in rather than getting caught up in ‘Are you doing better than me? How’s this going?’ Also, we are both really interested in the process of making, the stages where something’s really new. We show each other work quite early on,” Laing says. The pair’s blunt correspondence is both comical and disarming. “To text a photo of a new painting, to email a first chapter, subject heading ‘Is this shit???’” Laing says, referring to one of their exchanges.
Joffe sums up the process behind the book, saying that it was a rare chance to work collaboratively. “Most of all we had fun doing it, here in London in my studio with all the pages spread out on the studio floor, talking and arranging the pages and stopping to eat egg rolls and drink tea. I’m sad that we’ve finished it now.”
• Chantal Joffe and Olivia Laing, Painting Writing Texting, Mack, 192pp, £40 (hb)
• Chantal Joffe: I Remember, Victoria Miro, London, until 17 January
