Etienne Rayssac
Atelier Rayssac
Wood sculptor
Paris, France
Recommended by The French Savoir-Faire Institute (INMA)
Contemporary meets classical
- Etienne trained in fine arts and historical monuments, and has specialised in sculpture
- He works on collaboration projects in luxury interiors
- Over the years, he has developed a contemporary style while using traditional tools
Appointed Maître d’Art Ornamental Sculptor in 2008, Etienne Rayssac is an interior architecture and designer, specialised in wood and plaster sculpture. After training at Bordeaux Arts Academy, École Boulle and La Grande Chaumière in Paris, he joined the Atelier Fancelli studio and worked on National Heritage buildings. Then he successfully founded his own workshop. "I have the privilege of working on exceptional sites, creating magnificent decors, furniture and unique piece for private clients and luxury brands," says Etienne. Today, he collaborates with Maxime D’Angeac, architect-artistic director of the Orient Express train and Orient Express Corinthian sailing yacht, for which he created imposing plaster and wood bas-reliefs with hand carving and gouge sculpting techniques. His clients includes A.Pinto, Chanel and Cartier among others.
INTERVIEW
I was born in Versailles, and my mother took me for walks in the Versailles gardens. As the story goes, I pointed at the castle and said, “That’s what I will do.” And I love the work. Being able to transform an idea into something tangible is pure magic.
I love all the different phases: discussions with the client, the research, the moment of production when the idea finally becomes tangible, and also, of course, that special period of time spent finalising by hand all the small details.
I’m so lucky to be in Paris, first of all with its wealth of libraries and monuments, which I use a lot for my research. And I also have an immense library of my own on interior design, books on styles and creators. I use all the resources I can.
Get as much training and as many skills as you can. I’m still training. The challenge in our field is that it’s not one craft but five or six. So keep studying and training: drawing, modelling, woodcutting, knowledge of materials. An artisan needs a complete toolkit.
Etienne Rayssac
Atelier Rayssac
Wood sculptor
Paris, France
Recommended by The French Savoir-Faire Institute (INMA)
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
PHONE
+33 610775075
LANGUAGES
French, English, Spanish
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