Jean Guillaume

Jean Guillaume is highly indebted to the tuition from Françoise Bizette (Lycée technique de Sèvres) and then Jean Lerat (École nationale supérieure d’art de Bourges), and he will always remain a devoted friend to his “master”. Despite remaining faithful to the techniques he was taught, Jean Guillaume was able to find a very personal and original path. His sculptures as well as his more functional pieces always display a hint of humour. His bowls, mugs and soup tureens are anthropomorphic, with an arm serving as a handle, and a cap as a lid with a pot as a head on legs. His animal sculptures are stylised, unadorned but close to Outsider Art. Jean Guillaume showcases modelling by using just very few colours; these are created by the slips, softened by the ash and the reduction of wood firing in the Sèvres kiln.

Nicole Crestou