FRENCH SCULPTORMichèle Duchêne

Michèle Duchêne was born on December 2^nd, 1954 in Foix, the capital of the French department of Ariège. After graduating from the Gabriel Fauré School where she obtained a bachelor’s degree, she studied ceramics at the Beaux-Arts School in Toulouse for five years. In her Madrid studio, she specialised in using the “azulejos” technique while restoring original patterns that were typical of the hand-made ceramic tiles. For 25 years, she worked with clay, and, simultaneously, was employed in advertising, in graphic design.

In 2010, Michèle Duchêne began working with paper. As a material, paper allowed her to discover many different ways how to use it, which she could constantly explore as a sculptor. Working with clay was very demanding in terms of the sculpting process. On the other hand, working with paper (newspaper) was more comfortable and liberating. All she needs is sun and wind – the only elements necessary for the completion of her sculptures. The paste made from crushed and cleaned newsprint paints the sculptures in cement grey colour and gives them a stone look. Gradually, their expression, however, changes, and the final result is more than impressive.

It would be unfair not to mention the colour that eventually comes to complete her art pieces. They consist of hundreds of small pieces of paper from torn magazines and newspapers, carefully sorted by colour. Michèle Duchêne uses them in the same way as a painter uses his palette. Luxurious textures provide her statues with a striking presence. The efforts result in a sculpture filled with the same evocative power as the painting.

Michèle Duchêne’s sculptures express a distant nostalgia for childhood. These mysterious young women that look like they come from a virtual universe represent a combination of realism and poetic stylisation.