Who are we? A family of sculptors

Our art foundry

When I brought back my first bronzes from a foundry, my husband Philippe was very upset: “How is it possible that your very fine sculptures become... that!” And I had to work on “that” with a nail, a hammer, a screwdriver... I still remember correcting a lying roebuck or a charging stag without even wondering why I had moved on from painting, which was doing so well, to “that” from which I could earn no cent and which made me sweat, both literally and figuratively speaking.

An artist friend of mine advised me to buy at least a grinder and from that on, we became more and more involved.

I attended a training course by Stuart Roussel and benefited enormously from the great and unselfish help provided by Paumelle art foundry and by each and every single of its craftsmen (Patrick, Franck, Laurent, Jean-Noël...): these people, who love their job and are happy to transmit their know-how while expecting nothing in return, are the “godfathers” of our family art foundry: the Boisseau’s art foundry.

Our art foundry was set up to enable us to manufacture our own sculptures autonomously and to found the first bronzes created by our son Sébastien.

As his father Philippe (who used to work in a big firm), Sébastien has a job which he loves: he is a graphic designer. But, as his parents, he is also an artist: he paints and he sculpts and we have already manufactured his second bronze.

In short, we are now autonomous and even if the manufacturing of a bronze is very time- and energy consuming and requires a lot of heavy physical work (a few hours of creation, weeks of manufacturing), we can deliver a certificate to our customers without second thoughts: these pieces of art really come from us, no art founder founded them for us. What a luxury, what a joy, what a pleasure!

Original pieces of art

Each and every bronze we create is entirely manufactured in our workshop according to the traditional lost wax technique. Every piece is hand-made, with no automation included, which gives it a special and unique characteristic. According to the rules and code of ethics of art foundries, our bronzes are created in limited editions and are perennial works of art, worthy of the trust vested upon us by and art lovers and art collectors.

As professional artists, Catherine & Philippe Boisseau are registered with the Maison des Artistes and the Ateliers d'Art de France as creators contributing to the conservation and evolution of French artistic heritage.

Our "favourite collector"

Our favourite collector has become a friend even though we’ve never met. He bought his first sculpture after a painful event... Back then, he was only 27 years old and had limited financial means. He went as far as selling his car to buy a sculpture he had seen in an art gallery and about which he was dreaming.

He is a great art fan and his flat has become an extraordinary Ali Baba’s cave that defies imagination. It’s a treasure vault in which precious Olive reigns supreme: his little sovereign, his dog thanks to which we met.

He ordered us a bronze portrait from his dog, a beautiful korthal griffon, just as we were moving in our new estate. We still remember that we moulded the original clay sculpture in our new living room! We have had great exchanges of views with him, among other things about art because his uncle is a renowned painter and drawer. Over the years, we have tied a true friendship which has become very dear to our heart.

This great collector, endowed with a deep enthusiasm and wonderful “flair” for pure art, art coming from the heart, is an extraordinary man. Discreet, reserved, a true art connoisseur, he does not buy a piece of art because the artist is famous, he buys an artwork that overwhelms him and that, so to speak, comes into his life as a guest. He buys one piece of art at a time and each one is a new world for him to explore. Sometimes, he shares his new discoveries with us.

If I were a writer, I would write a novel about this sensitive, passionate, solitary, and discreet man, who loves « his » pieces of art and who brings art in line with heart at a time when, alas, art is more often than not linked to money. A true connoisseur, still misunderstood, he does not care whether the artist is fashionable, as long as the piece of art itself touches and moves him.

His is a high-minded collector, a true artist; he is more than an art fan: he is a true professional and connoisseur. Whereas many artists nowadays are lonely and sometimes rather individualists, this man enabled me to get to know Franck L, Clergerie, Regazzo, Caillez, Amri, Eisenbieck, Klemence, Michelsement, Carrance and many more... He is all by himself a school of art and I wish an art movement would bear his name..

Auctioneers

Auctioneers play an important role in our job. They are neutral and have no personal preferences or, at least, they don’t show them. They merely observe whether potential clients buy or not, which owes us a certain rating.

With very few exceptions, no auctioneer has ever discouraged or criticized us. His only concern is the art fan. We hold in great esteem these auctioneers’ integrity and, of course, some of them are especially dear to our hearts: those who have neither flattered us nor discouraged us, who are scrupulously honest and perfectly courteous..

Paintings, Indian ink, book illustrations

Indeed, one day, we should update it all, but there are so many of them...

Our life in the countryside

In 2004, we transferred our workshop in the beautiful region of Anjou, a somewhat secluded place where rural life is peaceful and true, far away from the turmoil of big cities. In our environment, animals abound: both domestic (horses, dogs, poultries) and wild ones (stags, roebucks, wild boars...). Human activities are inevitably linked to this environment: horse races, rural markets, hunting, etc. All this is a great source of inspiration for artists.

More particularly, our workshop in situated near Moulin Foulon, an old windmill once linked to a close-by Cistercian abbey. Only ruins are left from the abbey and the windmill but the place is still pregnant with spirituality, silence and meditation.

Catherine Boisseau
Philippe Boisseau