Elie Hirsch

Metalworker

Jewellery with a unique history

Elie initially studied ceramics before turning to metalwork
He opened his first studio in a shed in his parents’ garden
He now lives and works in Burgundy, eastern France

Elie Hirsch’s professional life began when he discovered a tiny shed hidden away at the end of his parent’s garden that he could use as his workshop. “I found a sense of freedom in that small confined space, the power to make anything I felt like doing,” he says. He had long searched for this freedom, and suddenly had to learn how to respond to the blank page, to the idea that he was free to create whatever he wanted. It was an exciting process, and over the next two years he set himself the task of creating two collections of jewellery. “I’ve always been very demanding. I wanted a perfect result,” he says. The collections were subsequently exhibited in Paris.

Interview

©Raphaël Rinaldi

Where do you find inspiration?: That’s a pretty vast question because I have the impression of being inhabited by all that makes me who I am today. There's a connection somewhere between my brain and my ten fingers that makes me do what I’m passionate about.
So your pieces are very personal?: Every piece has a history, it is imbued with how I felt when I made it. It’s impossible to make a sculpture that doesn’t have something profound behind it. People don’t know how I felt in that moment – happiness, love, stress. Each piece has this unique history.
What techniques do you use?: A bit of everything, but the one I use the most is the technique of shaping sheet metal using a hammer. But I also work the metal using welding, soldering, patinas, and then jewellery techniques that I’ve developed myself.
Has there been a defining moment in your career?: At one point I had problems with my arm that meant I had to stop working in the way I had learned. I had to unlearn everything and no longer shape my sculptures using a hammer. It totally demoralised me. But in the end it opened me up to new things, and I learned to make large pieces without any hammering.

Elie Hirsch is a master artisan: he began his career in 2002 and he started teaching in 2017