Kintu Studio Talk: Henriette Arcelin

 

Kintu Studio: I heard you you used to live in Dublin, is that right?

Henriette: Ah Charlie you're Irish! Yes I lived in Dublin for a year and then I moved back to Lisbon.

Kintu Studio: And why Lisbon?

Henriette: I came here to study ceramics, firstly I did a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Chelsea College in London and I spent a lot of time working in ceramics at the technical atelier. My way of working has to do with materials and what I’m going to do with it. So I really wanted to learn technical aspects of art - I chose ceramics but it could have been something else.

Ceramics is good because it involves the firing, the colour changes, the glazing and modelling something soft that then becomes hard - it was so complete that it really fed my geek side. So, I chose the difficult one. I looked at ceramics schools all around Europe and I had been to Lisbon before and I thought why not? I saw there was a school called Ar.Co, so I moved here and stayed ever since. This was almost 10 years ago.

Kintu Studio (Charlie): Oh, so you and Sylwia came here around the same time

Henriette: Yeah we did, we knew the old Lisbon. We saw all the changes. It's still great now though, just different.

Kintu Studio (Sylwia): When I arrived in Portugal, I was in Porto but then when I decided to move I wanted to be in Lisbon because it was the capital and I was hoping it would be more lively. It was quieter back then.

Henriette:  I moved back to Lisbon because I had so much work here. My style didn’t suit the aesthetic in Dublin, it's more industrial. They thought my work was nice but not suitable. However, in Lisbon my work is inspired by the tropical plants and is more fitting here. 

Kintu Studio: From where do you get your inspirations?

Henriette: Mainly from nature. I don’t really use Instagram or such, so I try to walk around and pick up things from around the city or from books. Usually my ideas come from things that I collect and see. But I’m passionate about plants and animals. I go to Sintra, botanical gardens and I try to travel as much as I can.

I mix things that interest me, like a design from a matchbox or a tree that I like. This makes it like a mental collage - its super subjective.

 

Kintu Studio: Is there anything you’d like to do in future?

I really would like to work with glass. I really like these decorative art techniques but of course I won’t master them. I’m really into patterns for textiles and wallpapers. I’ve already done these kind of projects but I’d like to do more. 

Kintu Studio: Do you have a favourite work?

Last year, I did a project with the woman I work alongside, she introduced me to Portuguese modernist artwork especially ceramics. We have similar techniques - collecting objects. In this case, it was sea shells from the Algarve and making crazy patterns.

Kintu Studio: Is there anywhere we can see your work?

Henriette: On 22nd of March I’m involved in an exhibition, it’s really interesting, we’re five ceramic artists. Each of us chose a tapestry and are answering to the tapestries. In May, I’ll be involved in Lisbon by Design, we have a really fun topic about fruit. I’m going to present a massive painting.

Kintu Studio: Do you think Lisbon is a good place to be an artist, is there a sense of community amongst artists?

Henriette: I think it is an amazing place to work, the city is a bit slow so if you want to get inspired or stimulated I think it can be hard sometimes when you have been living here for a while because you get into the rhythm of life here. It’s comfortable so you have to push yourself. I tend to gather energy when I travel or go back to Paris. So to be stimulated maybe not, but to work its good because I’ve made this network of craftsmen and artist friends with who it's exciting to work. 

But overall it’s a good place to be.

We had a lovely morning visiting Henriette at her studio, we hope you got a sense of the artist and what gives her the distinctive style that makes her so unique.