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8 rue Saint André

84000 Avignon

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I made one for Karl Lagerfeld’s doctor, who wanted to offer him a gift, with a portrait of the designer on the top”, explains Philippe. His works sell for between 500 and 2,000 Euros. They are exhibited in high-end interiors stores, art galleries, and contemporary art fairs like the SIAC in Marseille or the GMAC in Paris. And maybe soon in your living room, if, like us, you go crazy for them.

His style – poetic, optimistic and full of humor – is inspired by nature, the seaside, and the 1950s… Today, his creations are most often customized. “I work with decorators to liven up their clients’ interiors. I have just for example designed a tin of caviar with the photo of a house on the lid. I make lots of sardine tins for weddings personalized with the names of the bride and groom.

sculpture out of paper mâché. And I made the swordfish in question. I was away,” explains the artist. This technique, very common in the 19th century, was no longer really in fashion. But this is without taking into account Philippe’s passion for bringing it right back up to date. “It’s a clean, non polluting and even ecological technique, since certain papers had another life before being used in my creations. They are light, can be kept for a long time, and are easy to paint,” emphasizes Philippe.

Larger than life anchors in bas-relief, customized tins of sardines like fantastic little games… Philippe Balayn’s inventions are not lacking in humor! Yet to begin with, Philippe worked for more than twenty years in the very serious sphere of information technology. “I always made sculpture, paintings and humorous drawings. One day, I decided to live my passion and I took the plunge! After a trip to the United States where I fell in love with a stuffed swordfish, I started making

By Elodie Liénard - Photos DR - January 25, 2012

It’s in his studio in Avignon that the artist finds inspiration for his big tins of sardines filled with fish and poetry…

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