Artistic approach
For his return to Chaumont sur Loire to celebrate 10 years of art at the Domaine, Sarkis, whose stained-glass windows of his exhibit Ailleurs, Ici can still be enjoyed in the maids’ quarters of the Château, suggested coming up with an original work by “repairing” a piece of furniture that has suffered at the hands of time, according to the Japanese technique Kintsugi. Exalted and brought back to life by the artist, this chest of drawers, whose cracks and wounds will be sprinkled with gold, will be showcased in Princess de Broglie’s Salon – proof that survival is possible, beyond the vagaries of time.
Kintsugi (金継ぎ) which literally means “golden joinery”, refers to a Japanese technique for repairing broken pottery or chinaware by means of lacquer mixed with gold powder. Developed in Japan in the late 15th century, this method embraces a philosophy taking account of the object’s past, its history and therefore any accidents which may have befallen it. The aim is not to hide the repairs; quite the reverse in fact, it is to bring them to the fore by using lacquer and gold powder. The art of Kintsugi has allowed a new style to take shape: broken objects can thus be given a new lease of life in another form.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
