EVERLASTING MEDITERRANEAN LUNCH, LAVISH TULIP BOUQUETS... CAN WE REINTERPRET YOUR EMBROIDERY WORK AS A SENSE OF ENCAPSULATED THE INSTANT MOMENT?

That's exactly right, suspended moments that are eternal...

 

 

 

 

YOUR PAINTINGS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE WAY MORE ABSTRACT, WOULD YOU CONSIDER IT ANOTHER SIDE OF YOU, OR IS IT THE SAME UNIVERSE BUT IN ANOTHER FORM?

Yes it is another interpretation of my personality which finds its balance with my narrative embroidery. I like the spontaneity of the gesture in the painting.

The fact of not premeditating what you are going to do, that everything is the coincidence of a gesture at a given moment.
And that it will never be reproducible. It is also for me the expression of a pure sensitivity.

 

 

 

 

THERE’S ONE PARTICULAR WORK THAT I’M IN FOND OF: THE VELVET COLLAGE FRAMED WITHIN 3 LAYERS OF DIFFERENT FRAMES. CAN YOU EXPLAIN A BIT ABOUT THIS WORK?

This is one of my first "artistic object" research on the frame as a decorative object.

I wanted to associate my abstract illustrations with fabric - here velvet - and I imagined this sliding glass system on a wooden batten.

For me there is this minimalist side, a little Japanese, but also very vintage with the choice of fabrics and I liked this balance of shapes and materials.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW DO YOU DECIDE YOUR MEDIA, OR IS IT MORE YOU GET INSPIRED FROM THE RAW MATERIAL, THEN FIND THE BEST WAY OF TRANSFORMING THEM?

Often I start from the material, because I find it beautiful and then I wonder in what context I want to have it. For example, I bought several old fabrics with check patterns.

I don't know exactly how I'm going to use them. I still search until I find an idea that highlights them without getting bored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DO YOU THINK ART NEEDS TO BE PRACTICAL?

Personally, I think it's better if the art object is practical. That's kind of my goal: an everyday piece of art that is easy to use.

More and more I want the objects we own to be more and more optimal from a functional, decorative and emotional point of view.

For me it is the perfect object, the one that we want to keep. And if it is practical, it remains however invaluable, it is necessary all the same to take care of it.

 

 

 

 

 

It's better if the art object is practical.

That's kind of my goal:
an everyday piece of art that is easy to use.

 

WHAT’S YOUR DEFINITION OF CRUSH?

CRUSH is "UN COUP DE COEUR" in French. It is a strong and indefinable emotional connection.

  

AS AN ARTIST, BUT ALSO AS A BRAND, HOW DO YOU FIND A BALANCE IN BETWEEN CRAFTSMANSHIP AND COMMERCIALIZATION?

That's what I'm discovering right now!
It takes a lot of time to set up a product and to market it, especially when you are alone and have to take care of everything.
But it is quite exciting when you find the balance between creation and development. As a designer, you want to make creation accessible and to go towards others, as an artist it's more a personal fulfillment.
Both are essential to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR? OR SOMEONE WHO INFLUENCED YOU?

I don't have a mentor, I try to define and accomplish myself by myself, without following anyone's model.
But there are very inspiring personalities, especially in the multidisciplinary artists like:
Charlotte Perriand,
Eileen Gray,
Valentine Schlegel,
Le Corbusier,
Alvar Aalto,
Charles Rennie Mackintosh...

 

FURNITURES AND INTERIOR DESIGN ALSO PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR LIFE, FAVOURITE DESIGNERS WHOM YOU ADMIRE?

To complete with the previous question I would add:
Ron Arad,
Luis Barragán,
Carlo Scarpa,
Gae Aulenti,
Cini Mariani,
George Nakashima,
Mario Botta,
Isamu Noguchi,
Mathieu Mategot,
Erich Dieckmann,
Rodney Kinsman,
Shiro Kuramata,
Gerald Summers... and many more!

 

 

I REMEMBERED OUR SUNNY APÉRO SO WELL, YOU ARE A GREAT COOK AS WELL! COULD YOU SHARE WITH US ONE RECIPE THAT IS MOST LOVED DURING ALL OF YOUR SUNSET TERRACE APÉRO MOMENTS?

Haha yes of course!

For a sunny apéro, I love to make garlic marinated peppers and a Provencal Anchoïade with carrot sticks and celery branches.

 For the Marinated Peppers :

- put the whole peppers in the oven at 200°C, let them roast until the skin is black
- take them out and let them cool in a filmed bowl to remove the skin more easily
- once the skin and the seeds are removed, cut them in strips and put them in a dish with a lot of olive oil, finely cut garlic and basil
- put in the fridge for 2 hours minimum

 For the Anchoïade :
- crush a clove of garlic, the anchovy fillets, the parsley until you get an ointment
- pour gently, while mixing, a good olive oil, about 10cl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOU HAVE BEEN SHARING A LOT OF SHORT CLIPS OF FILMS THAT WE ENJOYED, SOME TITLES YOU ARE ESPECIALLY IN FOND OF AND ARE HAPPY TO REPEAT?

Yes, I love all of Eric Rohmer's films, I love the dialogues, the characters, the settings, you never get bored!
My favorite: Contes des quatre Saisons.

I also like a lot the films of Fatih Akin:
Soul Kitchen, De L'autre Côté. The stories are a bit zany, sad and funny at the same time.

Ang Lee's movies too!
Salé, Sucré and Garçon d'honneur are also full of humor but very touching in the human relationships.

 

 

 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT PLANS FOR OEUVRES SENSIBLES? IS EMBROIDERY GOING TO BE THE MAIN FOCUS?

Yes, I really want to explore embroidery as a decorative element. I would like to combine it with furniture, create new designs. There are lots of things to do, new stories to tell. It's very exciting!

 

Discover more about Sarah Espeute
oeuvres-sensible.fr 
Instagram @sarahespeute

 

Sarah in the picture wearing the Classic Cardigan in Beige