Isabelle Pegna is an artist who uses gold leaves and oil painting to adorn wood and turn it into screen fans, decorative panels and ornamental large-sized screens. With elegance and extreme finesse, she mixes the French and Renaissance styles with Koranic ornamental calligraphy to bring life to paintings through use of subtle and delicate colors, with floral and bird patterns that take us into an enchanted universe. Her works are infused with the beauty of stillness and time.
The viewer will pore over the art to discover each detail, each symbol, each inspiration from past centuries: the harmonious mix of Eastern and Western cultures, the finesse of her handiwork laid on wood, the recovered art of time. Each of her works of art conveys a story – maybe our own. Each look reveals a multitude of details and opens our souls to an imaginary world, bringing us closer to our emotions. Each work is unique, tied to musical inspirations and to rigorous pictorial and artistic research to give birth to the excellence of her handiwork, to the nobility of her body of works.
Maison Sensey: How did it all begin?
Isabelle Pegna: I was born with this desire to paint, to draw, to reproduce all the images I had inside me. I always loved the things that are extremely beautiful. But when I talk about beauty, it doesn’t necessarily mean luxury. I don’t associate luxury with beauty and refinement. Beauty is found in our daily lives – flowers, a fruit, a tree, a bird… Even a stain on the floor inspires me! I find inspiration in daily life. I belatedly joined the adult training course on trompe l’oeil techniques at the Carrousel du Louvre.It took four years of training. As I had already been painting and drawing since I was a child, it was more of a confirmation from experts in the field. I needed a professional eye on my work.
After that, I spent a year studying sculpture and three years doing ceramics. I realised painting best suited me – colours and poetry rather than shapes. I worked mostly with Italian trompe l’oeil style, paintings from the 16thand 17thcentury, with a focus on decorative painting. I needed to express myself, to find my pattern, my world, to make sure I didn’t reproduce something that already existed. Later, I created large-size painted canvas for photography sets.
I created my first large-size screen for photography, made solely of gold leaves that I oxidised and to which I gave a patina. I carried on creating large-size screens but this time with paint. I still define myself both as a craftswoman and a painter. My first works were inspired by Italian and French styles. After that, I turned towards the Muslim culture in which I found very rich decorative patterns. My work is the symbiosis of the Western and Eastern cultures, with all the symbols and traditions that implies. The 16th-century koranic ornamental calligraphy that I use came later. It is a very specific writing, but it is the one that suits me and my style of painting the best.
Do your large-size screens always have a precise theme?
Always ! It can stem from a poem, like the Conference of the Birdsby Farîd-ud-Dîn-‘Attâr, or from music like Rossini’s who also really inspired me for the theme of birds. There’s a music piece hiding behind each screen. Some of my creations come from Sufism. It is more of a philosophy than a religion. My creations hold a lot of spirituality. On the technical side, I use the association of oil painting and 24-carat gold leaves in all my works.
You also make screen fans. Could you tell us about their origins?
Screen fans are actually rigid fans – they are a specific type of fan. The first ones date back to Antiquity, they were called flabella (sing. flabellum). They were found in Ancient Egypt. The papacy also used them for papal ceremonies. Flabella have always been associated with power and wealth. They were made of high-quality peacock or ostrich feathers with handles made of sculpted gold or bronze. They were very precious objects which were useful but also highly symbolic.
Screen fans were also used a lot in Asia. They can still be found there today but in different forms. Most of the time, they are made of paper, feathers or painted silk, with handles made of wood or jade – they are often rather simple items. In the past, screen fans were used to hide one’s face in the theatre or at the opera: “proper” seduction, hide-and-seek items.
In the 18thand 19thcentury, they were mostly practical items as they allowed women to shield themselves from the heat and soot of the flames in front of the fireplace. To this end, they were often placed on a stand.The screen fans I create really are screens for the face – they are held by hand to protect one’s face. I started making fans after screens. It came to me by chance, but it was love at first sight. It made a lot of sense. I transformed them to bring them closer to the idea of the screen behind which one can hide.
I always loved screens because they are very elegant objects that provide more intimacy. The ones I create are 2.04 meters high, which is very tall compared to the standards from ancient times which were around 1.70 meters. They are primarily decorative screens. There must be some balance between height and weight. I make them as triptychs because this format of painting provides very specific balance and rhythm.
Each fan is delivered in a box which is, in itself, a work of art…
That’s my highly perfectionist side. I want to go all the way in what we can offer. It must be discreet, refined, elegant.
How long does it take you to create a screen?
To create a screen, between inspiration, research, finding the pattern, laying the pattern and the moment where I paint, it takes a few months. But the most time-consuming step is the research. At the beginning I have many ideas, and with time I need to boil them down to reach the required result.
My creative process is both spontaneous and well thought-out. It may seem like a contradiction, but
I have a very clear vision of what I want to reach. The movement must be very fine, methodical, it must go all the way. Colour inspires me a lot, and finally, I think about the material.
How would you define Beauty?
Beauty is very personal. It is not about ultra-luxury, but rather about sensitivity. It is very difficult to describe because beauty can be found everywhere, even in ugliness. One must learn how to look; beauty is not effortless. People often ask me why my works have an Eastern influence. By working with Arabic writing, I acquired a notion of the Muslim culture – it is beautiful, and it has nothing to do with what the media show us. There is a lot of beauty in their decors, in their philosophy. There is a lot of beauty in their culture.
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