Valérie Delarue

Ceramicist

©Thomas Deschamps

Sculpting the energy of the living world

Valérie makes sculptural forms of living things, reminiscent of objects found in cabinets of curiosity
She takes her cues from nature, landscapes, the underwater world
Creation is a perpetual quest, like a journey, which brings her happiness

Valérie Delarue is a sculptor who also practises drawing, painting, photography, and video art. She lives and works in Paris and in the Yonne region. After engaging in photographic projects and video performances centred around themes of hair and dance leading to trance-like states, she returned to sculptural work with ceramics. This field became her focus following her education at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she trained in Georges Jeanclos's studio, and later in Oakland, United States, under Viola Frey. Her intimate understanding of the technical subtleties of ceramic mediums allowed her to merge two fundamental approaches. One involves the energy of the body leaving imprints in clay, while the other interprets the gestures of creation as a dance-like interaction with the material. These serve as metaphors for vital energy and personal liberation, both erotically and creatively.

Interview

©Thomas Deschamps

©Thomas Deschamps

How did you begin in this craft?: In 1994, in a small attic room, I used to draw using pastels. I did not have a studio or a kiln. I sketched everything that inspired me in the realm of the living. In 1995, I was lent a studio and bought my first kiln when I won the contemporary art prize COPRIM.
What is special about your work?: The uniqueness of my work lies in composing artworks by assembling several interlocking pieces. My skills are composition and colour, and using glazes, even though I do not make them myself.
What do you love the most about your profession?: Building, playing, searching, and marvelling. I especially appreciate the physical dimension, grappling with materials. Working with clay evokes a multitude of other professions and related actions to me: construction, baking, cooking, sewing, surgery, dance, boxing. I love to pass on knowledge, too.
Is there something about your work that people do not know?: The diversity of my work. My drawings, photography and video often go unnoticed. As a sculptor-ceramicist, my roots in painting have shaped my approach to coloured ceramic. Drawing, colour, and photography are vital in sculpting.

Valérie Delarue is a master artisan: she began her career in 1995 and she started teaching in 1996