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PHOTO CREDIT: Florian Touzet
Audrey Guimard is a self-taught sculptor with a passion for stonework. Growing up in the mountains, surrounded by this material, has had a profound influence on her career. After studying art history and archaeology, she turned to museography, scenography and interior design, before discovering her true passion during an artistic residency in disused quarries. For the Sessùn flagship store in Paris, Audrey has designed a series of unique sculptures, ranging from seats to totems, as well as smaller pieces. Inspired by Sessùn's luminous, refined universe, she created works that interact with each other, celebrating natural materials and craftsmanship, while respecting the brand's timeless aesthetic.
Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background?
I'm a self-taught stone sculptor.
I studied art history and archaeology, and was aiming to become an archaeologist, before working in museography, theater and film sets, scenography and interior architecture. There's always been a connection between history, materials, the body, the object, space and more, in my journey.
It's quite a unique and unusual choice to work with stones and rocks. What drew you to these materials and why did you choose them as the main medium for your artistic practice ?
I grew up surrounded by minerals in the mountains. It was my first visual and physical contact, as I did a lot of climbing. Then came archaeology and the history of our civilizations engraved in stone, all of which left an indelible impression on my mind, and gave me a real fascination and deep respect for this material. The first time I worked with stone was during an artistic residency in disused quarries. The idea was to create a body of monumental work, and I took up the challenge of bringing stone back to life in these hollowed-out temples. It felt like a revelation when I started sculpting, because I had found my medium.
With a focus on stone and rocks, you also explore mythological themes. Can you tell us about your sources of inspiration?
There are indeed a few references to mythology in my work, but broadly speaking there's always a tribute to antiquity, ruins, artifacts and, of course, nature.
Can you tell us more about how you choose and combine your sculptures? What kinds of challenges do you face in this initial phase?
My approach does not involve extracting stone. I work in partnerships with quarries and marble factories in France and abroad, depending on my projects, so I sculpt mainly from offcuts. A great deal of materials ends up in the scrap heap when they actually deserve to be magnified.
My work begins with what I call a “treasure hunt”: my sculptures are born from the stone I discover and recover. Each piece is unique.
I work alone, and by hand, which means I can never exceed a certain weight and size to be able to handle the pieces without injuring myself. Totemic forms and assemblages enable me to create hybrid works that I manage throughout the whole process, from selection to final installation in situ.
For Sessùn Paris Bachaumont, you designed several sculptures. Can you tell us about this creation and the creative process, from initial idea to final realization?
For the magnificent space on rue Bachaumont, I'm presenting a body of work ranging from seats and totem poles to smaller sculptures. Something Emma François-Grasset, the founder of Sessùn, said struck me when we talked about the spirit she wanted to instill. She said: "Carry on making your little houses", and it is going to be the case, each piece and stone is a world in itself, dialoguing with the others and creating a dynamic, vibrant harmony through the interplay of shapes and types of sculpted stone.
We worked closely with Cobalto Studio on this project. Had you worked with them before?
I'm very honored to be able to contribute to the universe offered by Sessùn and Cobalto, that I find incredibly solar, refined, simple and joyful. This is my first collaboration. I'm obviously extremely sensitive to the sculptural use of natural materials, to color, to the many tributes to craftsmanship and to the vernacular Mediterranean architecture so aptly displayed by Gabriel Escamez and his teams.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sessùn's DIVINE bag, we invited fifteen artisans, including yourself, to reinvent this iconic bag. Could you tell us about your participation in this project and how you reimagined the Divine bag?
Strangely enough, it was quite a difficult exercise for me - it's the smallest format I've had to sculpt so far! I had to find the right balance between the tribute and the new vision. True to my style, it's an artifact, sort of fossilized, that stands out from the block.
What will you take away from this collaboration with Sessùn?
A lot of joy! I'm really happy to be able to work with Sessùn, a brand whose values, universe and aesthetic references I share. I know that people will feel at home in this new space and that my pieces dialogue very naturally with the whole setting.
What does Sessùn mean for you?
I've always found the world of Sessùn to be very luminous, human, elegant, timeless, open to the world and to the legacy of different cultures, to art and craftsmanship of course, it really is a way of life. I'm also, and above all, very sensitive to the brand's commitment to conscious, responsible and respectful development of our planet, which is fundamental.
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