Louis Lourioux (1874- 1930)
Camille Louis Lourioux, alias Louis Lourioux, was born in 1874 in the Berry region (Central France). At the age of 25 he already shares with his father the direction of the porcelain manufacture Legros, Buchon & Lourioux in Foëcy, before being introduced in 1904 to the Chambre Syndicale de la Céramique et de la Verrerie (Syndical Chamber of Pottery and Glassware).
The quality of the crockery produced in the manufacture becomes rapidly renowned, thus leading to the multiplication of commercial demand in France and beyond. It is in that context that numerous ordered plats à oreilles (baking dishes with handles), travelling to the United States in 1911 inside the bilges of the Titanic, were lost and rediscovered to be thereafter exhibited in the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in 2003.
Far from restraining his activity to dishware, Louis Lourioux accommodates a research booth inside the Foëcy manufacture to develop more artistic creations. He his seconded in his endeavour by three talented artists, his foreman and friend Aristide Pipet, porcelain painter, the sculptor and metalworker Joe Descomps, and a second sculptor, Charles Lemanceau. Lourioux thus proposes limited series of earthenware that would later establish his fame.
Beginning his activity with Art nouveau at its climax, Louis Lourioux first draws his inspiration from the animal and vegetal worlds. But keen to follow artistic movements of his time, he then turns to Art deco, cleaner and more geometric. Especially known for his stoneware and Grand Feu (high temperatures) decorations, Lourioux receives the title of Officier d’Académie as art ceramist in 1906 and soon opens a permanent shop rue de Paradis in Paris, baptized ‘Au Faune’, where he distributes his best stoneware. At this point, he is contacted by Primavera and signs with the La Maîtrise workshop from the Galeries Lafayette, where he works under the direction of Maurice Dufrène. Contemporary of Emile Gallé and René Lalique, Lourioux is quickly remarked for the quality and softness of his enamels ‘à la Decoeur’, his palette of delicate colours, and his mastery in firing forms remaining traditional.
In 1921, Louis Lourioux wins the 6 st contest organised by the Société d’Encouragement à l’Art et à l’Industrie (Society encouraging Art and Industry) to reward designers exhibiting their work at the Autumn Salon. At the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts of 1925, his vase ‘Soir de fête’ is critically acclaimed: ‘this piece of art, decorated with lanterns and streamers freely falling from shoulder to body, confirms his ascent among great names of ceramic making’ (Anne Lajoix).
Strong and visionary figure, often incline to laugh, Louis Lourioux was also passionate with women and luxury cars. His signature – among many – ‘Au Faune’ was indeed a nod to his love for womanhood. Louis Lourioux died too young, at the wheel of his Delehaye cabriolet, unfortunately leaving great ambitions behind.
Valérie Hermans (born in 1959)
Born in Nevers in 1959, Valérie Hermans soon takes interest in two thousands of years old Asiatic traditions as her art media of predilection, ceramics and calligraphy, fire and ink. She studies ceramics from 1980 to 1984 in the National Superior School of Applied Arts in Paris while at the same time following classes in the Academy of Oriental painting, thus acquiring training in calligraphy and Chinese painting from one of the great Korean masters, Ung-No-Lee.
Valérie Hermans sets up her first office in 1985 but since 1990 she lives and works with ceramist Jean Girel in Bourgogne, where they equipped their own house with a spacious workshop. This is where she personally elaborates her clay and enamels, a tiresome step in the creation process that few ceramist now have the patience to endure. She approaches ceramics as a calligrapher, emphasizing spontaneity and precision of her movements. Influenced by Chinese painting, her art is suggestive as she abandons herself to abstraction, allowing clays and enamels to express themselves. With their modest size and simplicity of lines, her pieces remind of the Chinese ceramics produced under the Song dynasty (960-1279) or during the years of the Korean Koryo Kingdom (918-1322).
Valérie Hermans’s creations are exhibited in prestigious art galleries in France and throughout Europe and constitute masterpieces of numerous private collections.
Jean Girel (born in 1947)
Born in Savoie in 1947, Jean Girel begins his training at age 14 with a traditional potter. After having studied the Beaux Arts in Mâcon and obtaining an Art licence in Paris, the obviousness of his vocation appears to him as he discovers Song ceramics : the alchemy of earth, water, and fire reconciles the multifaceted mind of the self-taught researcher, curious man and forever unsatisfied artist.
‘Everything begins in the Great workshop, that of the Planet, where elements restlessly transform, adapt, crystallize or return to liquid state.’
Synthesis between Occidental savoir-faire and Far East ceramic tradition, Jean Girel’s creation requires the elaboration of clays and enamels, of cooking protocols, as well as the invention of new tools which necessity arises according to the exigency of the creator. The kiln he now uses in his workshop near Cluny is the 17th of his conception for personal needs.
Advisor in matters of techniques and innovation for several production units in France and abroad, Jean Girel writes about ceramic making since 1970. His savoir-faire and desire to share his passion lead him to the honour of being named Maître d’Art in June 2000. In 2004, along with Valérie Hermans, he is invited to Taïwan National Palace Museum in Taipei and works there for almost 6 weeks. In both Taïwan and Japan, the Maitre d’Art title is synonymous with the status of ‘living national treasure’ and represent a highly valued patrimony. As an ultimate proof of recognition, the Taïwan museum buys him 11 pieces now displayed inside a specially dedicated exhibition room ; an unprecedented event for a contemporary artist !
Jean Girel’s ceramics, when not acquired by informed connoisseurs and collectors, are being currently displayed in numerous museums in France and abroad. In 2007, he is named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French minister of Culture at the request of the Société des Amis de Sèvres. In the past 10 years, exhibitions dedicated to his work follow each other in Sarreguemines, Paris, Brussels, Charolles, New York, La Borne, Geneva, Tokyo and so on.
Jacques Owczarek (born in 1961)
Jacques Owczarek lives and works in Paris. Self-taught artist, he discovers sculpture at age 30. His close collaboration with Master of Casting Didier Landowski, his fruitful exchanges with renown galerists and art collectors would be decisive in his future artist career.
Cautious regarding any teaching he prefers to work alone. This portraitist of the animal world spontaneously turned to a cubist geometry recalling influences drawn from Casky’s or Miklos’s creations. His work demonstrates keenness of observation and poetry full of humour. His understanding of animals allows us to delightfully enjoy the cat’s nonchalant pose, the movement of the elephant’s trunk, the crossed walk of the monkey, the huge strength of the bull, the steadfast calm of the turtle, the majestuous vigour of the horse, the quiet force of the bear…
Thus catching animals in their intimacy, the artist satisfies our own curiosity and pleasure. His work brings a new strength in the way sculpture can depict movement, glorify shapes, muscles, and the typical gesture. Jacques Oczwarek’s architectural sculpture, creating multiple lines of flight, invites us to restlessly turn around the pieces to catch the fullness of their expressivity.
Nanda Vigo (born in 1936)
Born in 1936 in Milan, Nanda Vigo graduates from the polytechnic school of Lausanne. After professional experiences in San Francisco and with Franck Lloyd Wright, she opens her own studio in Milan in 1959. In the course of her career, she notably meets Lucio Fontana, founder of spatialism, Piero Manzoni, or even Gio Ponti, and just like them works to the integration of art within a spatial unity. In the meantime, she develops her own brand ‘Chronotopy’. Member of the ZERO movement, she takes interest in light and its dynamic, and build the sensible space using illuminated elements and materials coming from industry like glass, mirrors and neons.
Nanda Vigo takes part in numerous design events and her recognition is worldwide, as her creations are exhibited in several galleries and museums of contemporary art. She received many prestigious prizes like the New York Award for Industrial Design in 1974, for her Golden Gate floor lamp, or the Saint Gobain Prize in 1976. In 2014, her work is exhibited in the Guggenheim museum of New York in a retrospective dedicated to ZERO. She has also been a teacher in prestigious design schools in Lausanne, Milan and Brera. She now lives and works between Milan and Kenya.
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