Camilla Guinness and the Importance of Not Being Earnest (Published 2015)

The article profiles Marie Christophe, a sculptor based in Southwest France known for her whimsical objects crafted from iron wire. Her clientele includes prestigious brands like Hermès, Dior, Roger Vivier, and interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot. Christophe's creations range from animals and light fixtures to fanciful birdcages, some adorned with beads and crystals, while others appear as delicate, flat line drawings. Bruno Frisoni, creative director of Roger Vivier, describes her work as light, airy, and poetic, highlighting its playful sophistication. Christophe’s artistic sensibility extends to her 18th-century residence in Gers, a rural agricultural region. She shares this eclectic home with her husband, interior designer Emmanuel Fenasse, and their two sons. The property features a two-story, pale-stucco manor with faded robin’s-egg-blue shutters, set amidst nearly 30 acres of rolling pastureland. A small stone structure, formerly an aviary, and a massive linden tree under which the family dines in warmer months, contribute to the idyllic setting. The landscape is rich with old roses, lilac bushes, wildflowers that attract butterflies, and cherry trees. Christophe’s atelier overlooks this pastoral scenery, with an imposing, centuries-old cedar as a focal point. The long, narrow table in her studio hints at its past as a billiards room. Her sculptures, though exquisite, are designed to adorn rather than dominate a room, their delicate nature allowing even larger pieces to integrate seamlessly into a furnished space. An example given is a table lamp that casts an encompassing light while remaining unobtrusive, and a stylized skeleton that adds decorative flair without being distracting. Contrary to the rustic shabby chic often adopted in French country houses, Christophe and Fenasse, who relocated from Paris a year prior, have curated a distinctive aesthetic. While a small sitting room features some roughed-up toile de jouy, most of the antiques in their home are midcentury or later. This preference is influenced by Fenasse’s parents, who were Knoll distributors in Algeria, his birthplace. Christophe humorously notes that their renovation has been labeled "très bobo"—a French term for bohemian hipster—acknowledging elements like 1950s brass flower sconces from flea markets, graphic metallic Cole & Son wallpaper in a guest room, and sleek ceramic light switches found in a downstairs bathroom. Light is a significant element in their home, from disco ball reflections casting stars on the living room’s blush-pink walls to sunlight streaming into the family’s wide, contemporary kitchen. The kitchen, with its simple wood cabinets and colorful ceramics, evokes a Scandinavian feel. Christophe’s journey into wire sculpture began in art school, where she combined drawing and sculpture to create her intricate wire objects. Her career gained significant momentum after Jean-Louis Dumas, then artistic director and chairman of Hermès, discovered her work at a Parisian art exhibition in 1996, leading to a commission for life-size horses for Hermès' Beverly Hills store. Despite their rural home, Christophe frequently travels to Paris for work and personal engagements, including meetings and social gatherings with friends like Bruno Frisoni, and shopping at Le Bon Marché. She maintains a studio in Paris for these visits, underscoring a balance between her professional life, her passion for fashion, and her artistic endeavors. The article concludes by noting the difficulty in persuading friends to leave the allure of her country home, a testament to its charm and comfort. #MarieChristophe #WireSculpture #FrenchCountryHome #InteriorDesign #ArtisticHome #GersFrance #HomeAndWork #EclecticDecor