Laurence
Waldner

Weaving studies, second and last apprentice in France. From 1983 to 1985, Laurence completed a two-year weaving apprenticeship in the workshop of Mr Jean-Yves Nicot in Locronan, Finistère, Brittany. With her master craftsman, she learned the basics and golden rules of weaving. By understanding these rules, she discovered her own path, opening the doors to her imagination. From 1986 to 1992, she completed various internships in haute couture. There she learned about the magnificence of materials and colours, the open-mindedness of combinations, and how to persevere in order to develop a new idea. In 2000, Laurence Waldner first registered with the Chamber of Trades and Crafts, then in 2010 with the Maison des Artistes. In 2005, she opened her own art gallery in the centre of Vannes, France. She also has a studio near the city, which allows her to work on new creations and sell them in her gallery. In 2016, I found my studio in the 7th arrondissement in the heart of Paris. The space had two functions: my studio and a showroom. At the end of 2023, I had to close its doors to refocus on my creative work.Today, I live and work at home in Malakoff.
The artist, with her textile works, works around an emotion, temporarily forgetting the golden rules of weaving: the shuttle remains to one side, and only her hands work to translate her gaze, her imagination, her feelings:
"For me, a work of art is above all an emotion. Transcribing a gaze, a feeling.The basis of my creations always starts with weaving, with textile fibres. But with the desire to work differently. No longer thinking about weaving and its golden rules, but just materials and colours. Mixing, extracting, twisting the material, seeking the painter's gesture... The alchemy of textures.Working with materials together, mixing textile fibres with other elements from nature or elsewhere. Sometimes taking detours to invent volume, knowing that light will play its dreamlike part... Finally, gradually step away from the wall, giving the eye the opportunity to lose itself in the meandering patterns of the different materials. Feel the sensitivity of the piece, deep within yourself.‘I like to think that weaving, which has followed the history of mankind, serves as an innovative basis for my contemporary creations.’
Laurence Waldner works on hand looms, in the noblest of weaving traditions. Her creations combine the pure ancestral techniques of hand weaving with contemporary works of art. Textile works, tapestries and contemporary art sculptures are all emotions, different perspectives on life.