Frédérique Morrel Gives New Life To Old Tapestries And Needlepoint In Her Sculptures.

Vintage tapestries become 'skin' for people, animals, trophy heads and even homewares in the laboriously beautiful work of Frédérique Morrel. A self-proclaimed latex, leather and fur lover, she has given old tapestries new life as integral parts of her sculptures.

Tapestries of all styles; erotic, kitschy and traditional, blend harmoniously and conceptually to add texture and narrative to the artist's free standing and wall mounted sculptures of deer, horses, unicorns, foxes, rabbits, dogs and the human figure.



above: Rembrandt, Bambi and Ma Biche from her Visitors and Passe-Murailles series.

She has three series of these sculptures. The Visitors consist of life sized animals covered in vintage tapestry and needlpoint and accented with real antlers, horns and hooves. Her Passe-Murailles are wall mounted trophy heads and G.Host are life sized human figures.

She starts with fiberglass molds injected with expanding foam, reinforces them with steel rods and hand applies the vintage "found" tapestries to the forms. The results are unusual and compelling pieces of art.

G.Host series

Eva, profile:

Eva, front:

Tony (front and back) and Eva:

Tony:

Tony, detail:


Three views of Diana:


Diana, detail:

Diana, back detail:

Legs:


All the pieces are made by hand in France by Frédérique, whose husband Aaron serves as the brand's artistic director.


above: artist Frederique Morrel and Damien

Frederique, husband Aaron Levin and their three boys:

Their adorable Jack Rusells, Maggie and Godard:

All photos by Philippe Cluzeau

Be sure to see Frederique Morrel's Visitors and Passe-Murailles series here.

Dead Animals Get Decorated By Sandra Musy.

above: Jane Doe #2, Unique piece (doe, green sequins, pins), 44cm x 39cm x 28cm

Sandra Musy: la nature vénéneuse was a recent exhibition featuring some seriously glamorous taxidermy -- sparkly stuffed animals of the real variety.

The artist, Sandra Musy, born in 1973, lives and works in Paris and creates in several mediums, one of which is, as you can see, taxidermy. This particular exhibit featured her wall-mounted deer heads and stuffed boars or pigs, ornately decorated with sequins.

The game trophy deer heads have the very clever names of John Doe and Jane Doe and are numbered. Her numbered sequined pigs are called Spider Cochon (or Spider Pigs) and they are a reference to The Simpsons.

The pieces shown below are available for purchase if not yet sold.

Jane Doe #1
Unique piece (doe, black sequins, pins), 44cm x 39cm x 28cm:


John Doe #1
Unique piece (roe deer, black sequins, pins), 50cm x 33cm x 28cm:


John Doe #2
Unique piece (roe deer, silver sequins, pins), 58cm x 38cm x 28cm:


Spidercochon #1 (SOLD)
Unique piece (young wild boar, green sequins, pins), 40cm x 20cm x 10cm:


Spidercochon #2
Unique piece (young wild boar, green sequins, pins), 44cm x 25cm x 14cm:


Spidercochon #3
Unique piece (young wild boar, black sequins, pins), 58cm x 32cm x 22cm:

all above photos courtesy of Arty Dandy


The exhibit was held at Arty Dandy from May 27, 2010- July 31, 2010 and the above pieces, if still available, can be purchased through them. Paris delivery offered, for shipping outside Paris, please contact them at contact@artydandy.com

The invitation to the show:


Soft Panic, an Electronica Psychedelic Pop artist named Wissam Hojeij in Paris, with John Doe #1 and Jane Doe #1, two of Sandra Musy's beautiful beasts:


Photos by Fred Lebain Photography

The Spidercochon below was from a previous show at Toast Gallery:


Sandra Musy's work is very difficult to find. She does not have a website, nor can I find the gallery that represents her, but you can view some of her other works here on Paris Art.

Sandra Musy is the second artist I've written about who uses stuffed dead pigs in her work.

To see the tattooed taxidermy of Wim Delvoye, go here.

Find books about taxidermy here.
Books on Wim Delvoye

Manymals. Sterling Silver Necklaces By Markus Diebel Benefit WildAid.

I absolutely love these modern and fluid looking sterling silver animal pendants that hang from snake chains by jewelry designer Markus Diebel!

He’s artfully rendered a dog, a sloth, a gorilla and a bat in 100% sterling silver in his San Francisco studio and to make them even more desirable, 5% of sales of each piece benefit WildAid, a nonprofit dedicated to ending illegal wildlife trade within our lifetimes.

Images of each Manymal are shown from front and back below:

The SF-based organization has chapters worldwide, including Galapagos and China. Details on Markus’s creatures —Sloth, Bat, Gorilla and Pug— are detailed on the backside of his innovative black bubble packaging. Solid silver on a sterling chain.

• Packaging: Innovative black card bubble pack.
• Size: Chain (from clasp to charm) 13.5"
• This item normally ships in 3-4 days.

Exclusive to the A+R store, $260.00 each. Buy them here.

New Orleans Jeweler Designs Collection To Help Gulf Coast Oil Spill Cleanup

Mignon Faget, a jewelry designer based in New Orleans, has introduced a new collection dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.



Now considered to be the largest offshore spill in U.S. history, the disaster has already had an extensive impact on marine and wildlife habitats. For Faget, the impacts of the spill and the cause of restoration in the area are especially close to her heart. The designer's very first collection was one inspired by the nature of the Gulf Coast region.




The new collection, dubbed "In Mourning," features pieces that Faget selected and redesigned from her earlier collections. Redfish, speckled trout, oysters and pelicans are presented as sterling silver or 14-karat gold pins backed with black ribbons or as pendants on black cords. The designs are meant to be worn in the tradition of mourning jewelry and so the collection evokes a somber mood, yet it also carries a spirit of hope.




"It is a heartbreaking statement to make with jewelry originally designed to celebrate the abundant gifts of our coast, but the reality is that we need to make people aware of this disaster and the long-term effects on this region," Faget said in a media release.




Designs in the In Mourning collection retail from $65 to $300, with proceeds benefiting the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (http://www.crcl.org/), a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the Louisiana coast. The collection is available in Mignon Faget galleries in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., as well as through the designer's Web site, MignonFaget.com.