Artist interview : Marie de Lignerolles
What is your background?
I studied applied arts: a course in textile art which I completed with a designer's course at ENSCI-Les Ateliers. This was followed by 9 years working as a designer for lifestyle brands (Le BHV, then Galeries Lafayette, Monoprix and finally Hermès). In 2017 I decided to become independent again to develop my personal work. Since then, I have been working as a graphic designer for different companies, I teach drawing and colour in schools of Applied Arts, but above all I have been developing my work as an artist, for which, through collages, I question the relationships between colours, colours and colours, I question the relationship between colours, the place of the void, the line and I am inspired by the geography of certain places.
How did your vocation as an artist come about?
In 2014, while working on a line of tableware for Monoprix, I got involved in a collage that made a big impression on me. I thought about it for several years, but I didn't have the opportunity to explore this discovery further. My decision to stop working for Hermès in 2017 was a good trigger, Since then I have taken the time to develop my collage work.
Why did you choose collage rather than painting or drawing?
I practice painting and drawing, it is possible that I will one day integrate these techniques into my work but collage was an obvious choice for me because it is the logical continuation of my work as a graphic designer in which I use a lot of strong colour relationships and the impact that line can have in a composition. and the impact that the line can have in a composition. I like to cut out, rework, adjust the shapes I have previously gouached, and this work, almost artisanal, fulfils me.
What are your artistic influences and inspirations?
I love Serge Poliakoff's paintings, his colourful compositions are very beautiful and powerful. I am also sensitive to the work of Matisse for his relationship to colour of course, but especially his line drawings and collages that he made at the end of his life.
What role does nature play in your creations?
Nature inspires me, I would say that it is almost my only source of inspiration. It's so vast that you can take the subject in different ways. What you find there is a richnesssuch as the variability of colours throughout the day and the year in the same place. It is fascinating.
Describe your work in 3 words
Colour, composition, lines.
Which work of art would you choose to accompany you throughout your life?
Form by Serge Poliakoff painted in 1968.
Which exhibition, artist or work has moved you the most?
The Dream of Formsa retrospective of Serge Poliakoff's work at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris in 2015.
A piece of furniture / design object that makes you dream?
The coffee table that Jean Prouvé designed in 1944
A place that inspires you?
When I am facing the sea.
A favourite colour?
I think it's the blue.
What are your artistic projects for the coming months?
A series of collages in homage to glaciers, a blue series in progress, and a white series that I am thinking about. A project of works for a hotel in the south of France, a collage project in collaboration with a duo of architects.
I also have a job ofin a small castle in the middle of the mountains in duo with a colourist I had the pleasure to meet recently, a design of bed linen for the brand Bonsoirs and a collection for yoga that will be released in February by Nature & Découvertes.
📸 Li Yun
