Lorraine Grouvel

It all started with travels. A long time ago, my grandmother brought back some terracotta pottery from Iran, which left a lasting impression on me as a child.

When I was a student, as soon as I could I would travel far and wide, always on the lookout for handicrafts. In 2010, I visited a ceramics workshop in Uzbekistan for the first time, and the idea sparked in me and stayed.

So in 2013, when I moved to Montreal, I immediately began training, and the thought of making my own objects quickly became an obsession. 

At that time, I discovered Arts and Crafts and a new generation of Anglo-Saxon ceramists who were bringing something new and creative to this material, in a rather intuitive and spontaneous practice; it was inspiring.

There's something magical about ceramics: working with the material, the alchemy, the range of possibilities, but also the return to simplicity and slowness, to humility.

There are many, of course. I'm fascinated by antiquity and archaeology, nature, folk art and ancient traditions, and sometimes architecture or contemporary art. What often touches me is the understated quality of a work, how it manages to express something strong and poetic, in a very simple way.

Sometimes it starts with an idea, a subject that interests me, sometimes with a shape. I keep a little notebook with me all the time, in which I write whenever I think of something, and then I test what I like best. I like projects that push back the boundaries between art and function, or repurpose a precious object into something very raw, and vice versa. There's a dimension of fun and play in this process that's very important to me.

I started out in Montreal about ten years ago, that's where I got my training. I joined a community workshop called l'Aluminé, and I loved it. I learned a lot from other ceramists, there was room for experimentation, it was a real haven of freedom. When I returned to Paris in 2020, I had to start all over again, the materials and methods weren't the same. This empowered me to further develop my practice.

If I had to choose, I'd say my boxes: they have a very raw, ornamental edge that I like. And I also like the idea of the box as an object: you can put things you value in it, memories, words, intimate or precious things...

I've always loved the idea of working with other materials; of finding a playground within different craft practices in which to transpose my universe. It inspired me to take a jewelry-making course in Montreal, during which I imagined pieces based on the shapes I was working on in ceramics at the time. I'd kept a few of my attempts, and last year I finally found the time to pick them up again and turn them into a collection of rings and earrings. I worked on a very small limited series in silver and gold with the production workshop of Fabrique Nomade, a Paris-based association that promotes the professional integration of refugee and migrant artisans in France. This approach meant a lot to me.

The Studio Mumbai exhibition at the Fondation Cartier: it’s a mix of art and architecture, natural materials and traditional skills, expressed in a very modern way. It's beautiful.

This summer I'll be in residency at the Château de la Haute-Borde, working on a more sculptural project that focuses on folk traditions, beekeeping practices and the living. I look forward to sharing it with you.

A sunny, sensitive universe of beautiful materials. The style is never ostentatious, always subtle. The bonds that Sessùn forges with the creative world, and its commitment to promoting handmade products and craftsmanship, is something that also touches me deeply.