Lison de Caunes, major ambassador
The life and work of Lison de Caunes stand out like a fresco in homage to the sagacity of craftsmanship and the links that these precious professions weave. Through passion and daring, the craftswoman is now raising straw marquetry – a long-devalued art – to the rank of goldsmithing, not without a touch of pride. Discovery.
The fiber of craftsmanship
In the gestures and the spirit of Lison de Caunes lives a fire. An endless creative energy of which she is the refuge but also the relay. Granddaughter of the decorator André Groult and a theater costume designer, sister of the fashion designer Paul Poiret, Lison de Caunes carries within her the fiber of inventiveness. After studying the art of bookbinding, gilding and cabinetmaking at the Central Union of Decorative Arts, she decided to explore the parallel path of straw marquetry, the abandoned little sister of wood marquetry. In this way, she gets closer to her roots, to a childhood surrounded by her grandfather's straw objects.
However, this work turns out to be laborious. Lison de Caunes then becomes the ambassador of a technique made vulnerable by the memories of history, which only reveals a work carried out by convicts and nuns. With consistency and fortitude, the craftswoman then sets out to prove that straw marquetry deserves an entire chapter in Arts Deco manuals. Alone at first, then surrounded by her employees, she honors large-scale orders by rehabilitating unchanged artisanal know-how. Its decorations, composed of straw veneers combined (or not) with other materials, are cut according to a drawing.
Consecration
After having restored a large number of works, Lison de Caunes was approached by big names in architecture such as Peter Marino, who captured all the mastery of the craftsman. Together, they collaborated in particular to create the mezzanine floor of the Guerlain boutique on the Champs-Élysées. The prodigy artist seduces with his vibrant creations whose singular geometry dusts off preconceived ideas.
She quickly signed unique designs for references like Jacques Grange, Maria Pergay, Hubert Le Gall or Vincent Darré with an always thrilling avant-garde. Today, although straw marquetry still does not have official training, Lison de Caunes passes on to its fifteen employees a taste for the exceptional behind the scenes in Paris. Hand in hand, they develop furniture under the aegis of Lison de Caunes Créations and consolidate partnerships with major players in interior architecture thanks to the Ateliers Lison de Caunes. A passing of the torch which delights the Master of Art, member of the Grands Ateliers de France and EPV (Living Heritage Company), promoted to Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2010.
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