Sylvie Auvray

Kinky, 2023

For the second project, the artist collaborated with French landscape designer Soline Portmann to create a site-specific installation that seamlessly dialogues with the natural surroundings.

This artwork is composed of 2,400 ceramic tiles made for 24 furniture pieces.
The titles reflects the playfulness and sense of freedom the artist experienced during their creation. The piece features drawings on large-scale panels and individual tiles, which are mixed to create new meanings through the use of large brush strokes on 3-meter-long panels or detailed work on 15×15 cm squares.

The subject matter emerged as spontaneously as the artist’s gestures, blending traditional tile motifs with depictions of medieval, bizarre animals drawn from old books and unusual illustrations observed in everyday life. In the end, everything connects: a snake eats a round yellow shape that turns into an egg, which then becomes a pattern across 90 tiles.

“Kinky” is the artist’s first work that also functions as a furniture installation. The installation includes two large tables, eight benches, and ten stools, designed both for viewing and for use as furniture.