My Cat, My Shelter

Is Tenderness Too Soft for the Art World?

Lysiane Morrel (b. 1993, Lille, France) is a self-taught illustrator who calls her style “domesticated surrealism.” As a child, she imagined having a giant cat—one large enough to shelter her from the world.

Critics from major European galleries have called her work childish and “not real art.” Morrel says this only proves that her style sits between comfort and absurdity—a place the art world rarely dares to go.

Lysiane Morrel, “My Cat, My Shelter”, 2026. Digital art. Print from the digital file. 80 × 80 cm (31.49 × 31.49 in.). Museum of Modern Art, Department of Rejected Artists. Gift of Lysiane Morrel. ©️ Lysiane Morrel. Photo by Jean Chapeau.

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