Lionel Paul (ONEL)

Born on March 2, 1966 in Soissons la Montagne, belongs to the younger generation of the Saint Soleil movement. At 6 years old, he was introduced to the arts in the small school run by Lucienne Fermathe Simeus, wife of Levoy Exile. This facility was supported by Tiga Art Materials and Maud Robart. In 1973, Onel became an apprentice in the workshop of Exile Levoy, who encouraged him to develop his artistic talents.

In 1989, under the leadership of Tiga and having grown up in the sphere of his aunt seamstress, he began moving towards recycling textile art that expanded with the use of sawdust and gluing objects.

Onel is one of the few artists who stand out from traditional modes of figurative Movement Saint-Soleil to provide innovative figural forms. He is the initiator of this process which was later adopted by the artists Prospero Eriveaux, Ery Stivenson, and Magloire.