The torchbearer
- Sylvaine cannot conceive modernity without tradition
- She’s fascinated by Asia, Persian miniatures and ancient legends
- Her workshop has always been open to everyone
Sylvaine Gorgo worked as a stone cutter, cutting marble, granite and other stones in their raw forms for paved walkways, basins, and fountains, before dedicating herself to hard stone marquetry. The story of this self-taught artist is intimately tied to the family of the late artist Wladislav Bebko, who passed on the torch to her when they entrusted her with his stone marquetry workshop. Practising what she calls the big gap between decoration and personal creations, she carries out special orders using commesso and intarsia techniques and develops her own language using almost exclusively inlays on stone. Using marble slabs as a backdrop to tell her stories is the most fulfilling way for her to express herself.
Interview
- Why did you choose this profession?
- When I started doing mosaic and stone cutting, I would question everything. I never really felt satisfied. With marquetry, I had the feeling I had finally reached my destination, although it implied some time and sacrifices.
- Do you train apprentices?
- I am not training an apprentice yet, but I am thinking about devoting myself to it in a few years to pass on the torch in return. I inherited an artist's livelihood and whoever comes after me will in turn inherit our legacies.
- Do you master any specific techniques?
- Digital machines are not interesting for me. My hands and the use of my old diamond tools remain vital to my creation process. I believe this is what gives a particular touch to my tiny marquetry which require a lot of precision.
- Is your craft considered endangered?
- Stone marquetry is a niche craft that needs protecting.Today, it is threatened by digitally made items that are sold as artisanal and by the standardization of a society that has lost the true sense of beauty.
Sylvaine Gorgo is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1996
Where
Sylvaine Gorgo
