Inspired and poetic, Lalou Kraffe is a sensitive artist
More than a quarter of a century of pictorial research and deepening of my preferred techniques allows me today to offer you, through the discovery of my works, a rich and precious array of moments of life and feelings that pass through us daily.
Here, the woman takes her place in a very natural way. My gaze engages you with a captivating strength and expression.
You can easily become unsettled if you let yourself be drawn in by these luminous porcelain skins through which I constantly invite you to take the time to reflect on our human fragility, made of flesh.
gentleness and poetry
Know-how and art history
Each painting is inspired by references drawn from the archives of art history (1890-1930).
"My perfectionism is undoubtedly linked to my time at and deep attachment to the École Boulle (Paris), where I obtained my diploma in the 90s."
"I refine my sketches and drawings in notebooks, sometimes over several years. In order to maintain complete serenity in the creation of the surfaces, I use masking, which gives these slight bulges in the composition."
"Therefore, no gluing: everything is obtained through the meticulous alchemy of my know-how, pigments, water and wood."
emotion and feeling
A sensitive painting
"I love using my gaze, my feelings and my emotions as a prism that collects the precious essence of all my observations and gives birth to beauty, as it is built and refined over the years in my inner self."
"I journey with delicacy and respect into the depths of feelings, states of mind, shivers and goosebumps that animate us and make us so alive and vulnerable, fragile and great."
"I place on the wood the sensitivities that dwell within us all."
Poetry and technique
Modern Art Revisited
Lalou draws inspiration from the period of modern art, which began in 1860 with the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and continued until 1930 with the Viennese workshops, passing through the Pont Aven school, the Nabis and Klimt's Vienna Secession.
Japonisme (1870-1890) is also part of this artistic period and influenced these different artistic movements.
Lalou sometimes uses the same process as Japanese "katagami", traditional Japanese stencils (made from mulberry leaves) used in arts and crafts to print fabrics and kimonos.
Artistic and social
William Morris and the "Arts and Crafts" movement.
The Arts and Crafts movement, initiated by William Morris in England around 1860, is an artistic and social movement that advocates a return to craftsmanship in the face of increasing industrialization.
It values manual labor, the quality of natural materials (wood, stone, metal), and the beauty of everyday objects, often adorned with floral motifs and inspired by nature.
The Arts and Crafts movement rejected mass production and excessive ornamentation, favoring simplicity, functionality, and the integration of art into everyday life.
William Morris and his companions championed the idea that art should be accessible to all, and that every object, even a utilitarian one, can carry beauty and meaning .
This movement had a major influence on the decorative arts, architecture and modern design, and inspired other movements such as Art Nouveau.
a major influence
The Pont-Aven school
The Pont-Aven school is an artistic movement that originated at the end of the 19th century in the Breton village of Pont-Aven.
It brought together painters from all over Europe, including Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Paul Sérusier and Charles Filiger, attracted by the wild beauty of Brittany and the desire to break with academicism.
Together, they developed an innovative style, Synthetism, characterized by flat areas of bright colors, simplified shapes and marked outlines, drawing inspiration from medieval and Japanese art.
The Pont-Aven school is considered a major milestone towards modern art.
personal expression
The Nabis
The work of the Nabis, a group of young post-impressionist painters founded around Paul Sérusier in 1888, aimed to renew painting by drawing inspiration from spirituality, symbolism and decorative art.
Influenced by Gauguin, they favoured pure colours, simplified forms and personal expression.
The Nabis sought to abolish the boundary between fine arts and decorative arts , integrating beauty into everyday life through various media (tapestries, stained glass, wallpapers).
Their research foreshadows Fauvism and modern art.
Accessible art
The Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession was a major artistic movement that originated in Vienna in 1897, founded by Gustav Klimt, Josef Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann.
This movement is part of the Art Nouveau dynamic, while asserting its own identity. Its main objective is to break with academic conservatism and create a "total art" that integrates painting, architecture, decorative arts, sculpture, typography and ceramics, without hierarchy between disciplines.
The Vienna Secession is distinguished by its desire to unite the country's creative forces, establish an international dialogue, and revitalize the applied arts. Artists championed creative freedom, openness to foreign influences (particularly European Art Nouveau, the English Arts & Crafts movement, and Japanese prints), and the integration of art into all aspects of daily life.
The Secession Building, built in 1897, became the symbol of the movement, with the motto "To each age its art, to each art its freedom".
The journal Ver Sacrum disseminated their innovative ideas. This movement profoundly transformed the cultural landscape of Vienna and Central Europe, laying the foundations for the avant-garde of the 20th century and inspiring the creation of the Wiener Werkstätte, which would pursue the ideal of an art accessible and integrated into modern society.
abolish borders
The Viennese workshops
The Wiener Werkstätte, or "Viennese Workshops", is an artistic movement and a collective of artists and craftsmen founded in Vienna in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and the industrialist Fritz Waerndorfer.
Inspired by the English Arts & Crafts movement, the Wiener Werkstätte aims to abolish the boundary between fine arts and decorative arts, creating a "total art" where every everyday object – furniture, glassware, textiles, jewelry, stationery – is conceived with the same care and aesthetic demands as major works.
Importantly, the workshops include an unprecedented number of female artists , including Vally Wieselthier, Gudrun Baudisch and Mathilde Flögl, who play a central role in textile creation, ceramics and graphic design, and actively contribute to the collective's renown.
The collective champions the alliance of modern design and artisanal craftsmanship, valuing quality, functionality, and refined elegance. Their production, characterized by geometric forms, meticulous attention to materials, and an innovative style, stands in opposition to historicism and mass industrial production.
The goal is to introduce beauty and art into all aspects of daily life, making modern aesthetics accessible to a wide audience.
The Wiener Werkstätte marked the history of design and decorative arts for almost 30 years, laying the foundations of modern design and influencing movements such as Art Deco and Bauhaus.
His ideal of a total work of art finds its apogee in emblematic achievements such as the Stoclet Palace in Brussels.
a major turning point
"Japanism"
Japonisme is an artistic movement that emerged in Europe in the 1860s, following the opening of Japan to international trade after more than two centuries of isolation.
This movement refers to the profound influence of Japanese art and culture, particularly ukiyo-e prints, on Western artists, first French and then European, who were fascinated by the novelty of its motifs, its bold framing, its flat colors and its themes inspired by nature.
Japonisme influenced all areas of creation: painting, decorative arts, architecture, fashion, and even music. It marked a turning point in the history of Western art by offering an alternative to academic conventions and inspiring major movements such as Impressionism and Art Nouveau.
The term was coined in 1872 by art critic Philippe Burty to describe this passion and appropriation of Japanese forms and techniques by European artists.
Japonisme reached its peak at the end of the 19th century, before being gradually eclipsed at the beginning of the 20th century by interest in African and Oceanic arts.