Hélène de Saint Lager . . . Studio Visit

What does your studio look like today?

A great artistic mess! We are in the middle of completing pieces with others in progress. My work has a tendency to invade all the other rooms in my house. My living room is currently transformed into an annex of the workshop, complete with an inflatable painting booth.

What are you most excited by right now?

Creating new pieces and thinking about new art furniture. But it’s also exciting to get into the booth to compose the resins with coloured inks and inclusions. I also love the participation in the development of the work by other craftspeople who work for me (foundryman, cabinetmaker etc . . . ).

What is your must-have when working?

My essential working condition is silence and solitude while I compose each piece. That is why I regularly work at night. This work is essential to my life; it constitutes it and gives it meaning.

What do you do to make yourself feel better when things don’t go according to plan?

I lock myself in and I work: my job is therapy. Sometimes my hands work faster than my mind. It’s as if the idea of the piece blossoms in my mind after my hands have started to make it.

If you could own one piece of art by someone else, what would it be?

There are so many painters and sculptors that I love that I can’t bring myself to name just one. Besides, since the beginning of my work, I have been doing exchanges with other artists, buying works from friends.

What is your dream commission?

The orders I get are dreams come true. I particularly enjoy working with great decorators – my two main clients are Jacques Garcia and Peter Marino. This collaboration allows me to create pieces that I would never have done alone.

Where would you like to be this time next year?

In a much larger workshop! With big orders from decorators . . .

Read more about Hélène de Saint Lager

Resins in Hélène de Saint Lager's studio

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