Material and spiritual. Light and shadows. Stable and volatile. More and less. These are some of the antagonismes Line Vautrin carved onto a small bronze disc atop one of her coveted boxes. The word pairs, which reveal themselves slowly from a sea of lowercase letters, read like a staccato biography of the French artist, who died in 1997 at the age of 83.
Dubbed the 'poetess of metal' by American Vogue, Vautrin elevated industrial materials to the realm of decoration and, mining inspiration from sources dating back to ancient times, couldn't resist a double entendre. New York gallery Maison Gérard has brought together 67 boxes by the self-taught artist in an exhibition that celebrates the 100th anniversary of her birth.
'Line Vautrin's career started very small and organically,' says Benoist F Drut, a partner in Maison Gérard. 'She offered her creations door-to-door at age 20 before being able to open her own showroom, and finished her career with an atelier on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.' Born into a family of Parisian metalworkers, Vautrin honed her casting, chasing and gilding skills from a young age in her father's foundry workshop. From buttons to jewellery to frivolities (comb-holders, foot-warmers), she progressed to the bronze containers that earned her widespread acclaim.
The silvered and gilt bronze boxes in the exhibition were created between 1942 and 1950 and amassed by a single collector over four decades. Their embellished covers reveal a variety of inspirations, from mythological figures and poetry by Rimbaud and Apollinaire to a Venetian masquerade ball and declarations of love, often concealed in symbolic word puzzles known as rebuses. One titled 'La Foule' (The Crowd) is etched with a cluster of stern, angular faces, save for a lone round one, grinning in the middle. 'Vautrin had a very consistent body of work that was expertly crafted and totally proprietary to her,' says Drut, 'where poetry, romanticism and fantasy meet a great sense of creation and craftsmanship.'
Vautrin's silvered-bronze 'Les roseaux aux têtes humaines' (Reeds with human faces) box; a gilded-bronze 'Les quatre âges de la femme' (Four ages of a woman) box; and, at right, two powder boxes with the inscription: 'De la poudre et des bals' (Face powder and masquerade balls)
Maison Gérard is hosting the exhibition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth
Left: 'The Kings Cobblestones' compact mirror, with a small box attached resembling Le Trianon. Right: 'Je t'aime passionnément' (I am passionately in love with you), and a box titled 'Allez, laissez couler les jours, allègez-les, l'amour est un lait de beauté' (Let the days pass, lighten them, love is a beautifying lotion)
From left: one of Vautrin's 'Ophelia' gilded-bronze boxes, inspired by Arthur Rimbaud's poem of the same name; her 'De la poudre et des bals' box; and her 'Exaltantes les glaces' (Exhilarating are the icy peaks) gilded bronze box
A rare 'Le Cantique des Colonnes' (Hymn of the Columns) gilded-bronze box with three sections. Engraved on top is an excerpt from Paul Valéry's 'Charmes'
Vautrin's 'Les petits cadeaux entretiennent l'amité' (Little gifts keep a friendship alive) boxes in gilded and silvered bronze. At right are her gilded-bronze box 'Obéissant passionnément' (Passionately obedient) and her 'Je t'aime en silence' (I am silently in love with you) silvered- and gilded-bronze box
A gilded-bronze 'Cordages' (Ropes) box (left) and J'ai perdu ma tourterelle' (I lost my turtledove), also in gilded bronze
Two 'Faubourg Saint-Honoré' boxes, depicting the location of Vautrin's atelier, in silvered and gilded bronze. At right is Vautrin's 'Livre' (Book) box, inscribed with verses from the poem 'Clair de lune'
ADDRESS
43 East 10th Street
New York
NY 10003
-
This surreal new seafood restaurant in LA is the stuff of mermaid's dreamsAt Cento Raw Bar, delectable fare is complemented by playful, oceanic interiors by Brandon Miradi
-
What’s new in the wearable world of smart glasses, and extended and augmented realityAre you ready for AR? Meta, Google, Snap and more are gearing up to compete with Apple and deliver frames-based communications devices – complete with AI integration
-
Italian-Japanese fusion’s a joy at east London’s Osteria AngelinaA Victorian warehouse in Spitalfields has been given a slick modern makeover to house a unique Italian-Japanese restaurant
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, DiversGeordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took placeMarc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colourThe Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the churchThe American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
