Thérèse Lebrun

Thérèse Lebrun collects seeds, twigs and dry fruits, and combines all these elements with porcelain paper, a very thin, white material that becomes translucent when baked. She composes her work step by step, like an embroidery or like a peaceful meditation. In her studio, she creates a mineral world of organic shapes, which remind us of childhood souvenirs - fossils, beach treasures or slowly built up limestone formations. “Recreating these universes in my own way, I compress time and materials, using basic elements such as water, earth, fire, air, vegetal matter. All of this leads me towards the creation of membranes, envelopes, skins, fossils, corals, phryganea, cocoons, mysterious refuges for the worlds of our imagination.”

Since 2004, Thérèse has developed a technique that consists of dipping plants into porcelain paper and assembling them before firing. This way of working allows the physical and chemical imprint of the plant to be revealed after combustion. By firing, a reaction takes place between the porcelain and the ashes of the plants. Making her pieces by means of small repeated gestures, as one might embroider or meditate in tranquillity, Thérèse sets in motion what the philosopher Gaston Bachelard terms "the material imagination"; he adds that "it is in the doing that the dream gains substance".

Thérèse Lebrun’s work is related to the land around her in a particular way. She works with wild plants that she crops in nature surrounding her. Before firing the ceramic pieces, they are made of plants and porcelain. After firing, the plants are reduced to ashes. “The piece before firing has a very different and interesting aspect; this is never shown. It belongs to me.”

Next of Europe Exhibition