VALENTINE SCHLEGEL (1925-2021) - Lot 138

VALENTINE SCHLEGEL (1925-2021) Vase with bouquet, 1994 Pastel on paper. Signed and dated V. SCHLEGEL 1994 lower right. 65x50cm Born in 1925 in Sète, on the Mediterranean coast, Valentine Schlegel grew up in an environment conducive to creativity, combining art, sport and intellectual curiosity. Encouraged by her father, she entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier in 1942, before moving to Paris in 1945, attracted by the artistic freedom of the capital - while remaining deeply attached to her hometown, an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Participating alongside her brother-in-law Jean Vilar (1912-1971) in the birth of the Avignon Festival, it was to ceramics that she turned and affirmed her style - in the wake of the 1950s revival initiated in Vallauris by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Thus, alongside his utilitarian production, he created pieces with organic, powerful and sensual forms. Schlegel's first large-scale works, made with colombin, were exhibited in 1955 at the Abstraction et poterie usuelles exhibition at Galerie La Roue, which also featured creations by Élisabeth Joulia (1925-2003) - another major female figure in the post-war ceramics revival and follower of a certain biomorphic abstraction. Schlegel's works seem to be in direct dialogue with the plant world, evoking its contours by alternating curved and angular forms - a sculptural style reminiscent of works by Hans Arp (1883-1966) or Henry Moore (1898-1986). His muted engobes add to this naturalistic reading. During the 1950s, Schlegel continued to experiment with ceramics, exhibiting both in Paris and internationally. Although a solitary creator, she collaborated in particular with her sister Andrée Vilar-Schlegel (1916-2009), who contributed to the decor of the pieces she turned. At the same time, she passed on her knowledge by founding an innovative workshop at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs for under-15s - affirming her commitment to artistic education. Her move to the Alésia district, where she designed a living and creative space in keeping with her art of living, coincided with the introduction of plasterwork to her artistic career. She creates unique, pure-white fireplace sculptures that combine aesthetics and functionality. These "sculptures for living" - the title given to the exhibition devoted to her work at Galerie La Demeure in 1975 - made her a household name; she produced over a hundred of them, first for friends, then for numerous sponsors. Increasingly, she moved away from ceramic production to devote herself to the creation of complete architectural layouts - which required collective work, to which she aspired. A free artist, far removed from tradition, Valentine Schlegel defended an artisanal approach, focused on people, habitat and useful beauty. She passed away in 2021, leaving behind a world of poetry, creative freedom and modernity - a world that continues to inspire.