François MASCARELLO
Painter, sculptor, designer and craftsman, François Mascarello experiments with materials and artistic techniques to translate the power and fragility of manual gesture into space. It is through his mastery of material constraints that he brings to life the emotion that is essential to every work of art. François Mascarello handcrafts oil-based wallpapers on kraft or Japanese paper, screens, bas-reliefs and stucco objects, sometimes enhanced with leather, lacquer or straw marquetry, that evoke the decorative arts, illumination and the first pieces of furniture made by Skara Brae 5,000 years ago.
Working with architects such as Laura Gonzales, Chahan Minassian and Hugo Toro, as well as luxury houses such as Cartier and Dior, François Mascarello creates decor for boutiques, frescoes for hotel lobbies and swimming pools, lighting and rugs. He divides his time between his work as an artist and his design studio.
François Mascarello moves his imagination through his encounters with artisans, repeating that the word "art" first meant "a way of doing things" and nothing more, quoting Paul Valéry.
"My painting already tended towards abstraction and almost choreographic movement. Today I've added an architectural impulse, the idea being to explore every possible dimension: from the smallest to the largest, from the deepest to the brightest, from the most elusive perspective to the most intimate line."