Poetic sculptures in delicate leather
- Marie studied with French designer Serge Mouille
- Her work falls between design, art and sculpture
- She uses leather and other materials to create unique works
Marie Barthès studied synthetic materials at ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres in Paris, before becoming a sculptor for cinema, advertising, theatre and interior design. In 2009, she launched herself as an independent artisan and joined Les Ateliers d'Art de France. "I worked with every type of material until I found leather, or rather, leather found her," she says. Marie discovered it when she worked on a project for Guerlain years ago and has used it ever since. Her background has provided with her with traditional tools and expertise, which she has adapted to create sculptures that have a distinctive character and a delicacy that arises out of the details she crafts into the leather.
INTERVIEW
I aim to evolve artistic leather sheathing towards contemporary forms by detaching it from its traditional context to reveal its creative potential. It brings together sculpture and sheathing, skills that allow me to design pieces in which volume is not just a support but a true form of expression.
It is a need of mine. The guiding principle in my work is the same: creating volume in space. I try to work with a wide variety of materials, which I choose for their intrinsic qualities as much as for their ability to interact with the form. This includes brass, copper wire, small jewellery, and other materials to enhance the leather.
It is a poetic universe: a reflection of our desires and surroundings. The multiplication of forms, rhythms, fullness and emptiness, the order and disorder that can be found in each aspect of life.
I know my clientele better, which allows me to recognise their preferences and meet their needs. But what I always rely on when I make a work without any knowledge of where it will end up, is the idea of using my artistic sensibility to create a unique, singular and lasting piece.
