WHERE ART INSPIRES CONNECTION
Unforgotten
featuring work by
Juliette Frescaline
Cécilia Lusven
May 11 - June 30, 2024
TINT is pleased to announce “Unforgotten,” featuring works by Juliette Frescaline and Cécilia Lusven. Both artists transform the discarded into something celebrated. Frescaline focuses on the often-overlooked material of iron wire in her metal sculptures. She combines this with the subject matter of wild weeds and animal skins to celebrate the ordinary beauty in the natural world. Similarly, Lusven uses discarded materials such as inner tubes and scraps of leather to reveal the inherent beauty and value in them, while also challenging the trivialization of the textile practice brought on by industrialization. Lusven thus elevates the art of textile from the forgotten to the revered.
Frescaline seeks to emphasize ordinary beauty in her works. Her metal sculptures suggest organic forms that spread, seemingly taking over the spaces they inhabit, becoming almost animal-like in the way they move. They force us to commune with nature. Frescaline has a particular affection for weeds: these invasive plants which, silently, disturb the established order of our roads. She transforms these invasions into magnificent bouquets. These bouquets invite us to see these strangers as familiar, accomplices who protect us from monotony, liven up, and beautify our daily lives.
Through Lusven’s work, she aims to illuminate the dedication and intricacy that lies at the heart of weaving. Each piece is a testament to the laborious process, where every hand-cut fringe is meticulously inserted, one by one, revealing the journey of each thread – coiled, warped, beamed, threaded, tensed, and finally woven.
Lusven’s work challenges the trivialization of the textile practice brought on by industrialization, by bringing together art and the common. Lusven uses discarded materials or scraps of leather to echo this devalued textile practice. These materials are transformed through her hands as she hand-cuts then handweaves them with dead stock linen threads from shoemaking or bookbinding.
Lusven’s process is not just about reclaiming materials; it’s about revealing the inherent beauty and value in them. Through her commitment and craftsmanship, Lusven elevates the art of textile from the forgotten to the revered.
In Frescaline’s work “Régénérescence,” finely chiseled metallic pieces turn into scales clustered together in voluptuous curves, seemingly inspired by a snake. The same metal that was once used to shape soldiers' armor now calls to mind the shell of an animal protector. This animal mimicry reminds of that the source of our strength is our belonging to the power of the natural cycle. The fire Frescaline wields to create her metal sculptures isn’t an instrument that demonstrates humanity’s domination over nature. Instead, fire from the natural world is what allows Frescaline to create.
About the Artists
Juliette Frescaline is a French artist and metal sculptor who focuses on transforming the often discarded material: iron wire. Trained in applied arts, specializing in metal, Frescaline received her Diplôme des Métiers d’Art at Olivier de Serres. She developed her technique by focusing her research on what textures feel like to the touch. Frescaline is a Laureate of the Villa Seurat foundation, where she has also been a guest of honor several times.
Frescaline has been part of international solo shows and group shows since 2011. This is her first exhibition in the United States.
Cécilia Lusven is a local French artist who graduated from ENSCI, Les Ateliers (Ecole Nationale Supérieur de Création Industrielle) in Paris in 2013. Her studies introduced her to industrial textile design which allowed her to explore the art of hand weaving. Lusven worked as a wallpaper designer and as a weaver for others before committing fulltime to her craft of hand weaving. She moved to San Francisco, where she currently works.
Lusven’s work was selected to be part of the de Young Open 2023. “Unforgotten” is Lusven’s first large-scale duo exhibition in San Francisco.