Naïve in
form but carefully crafted, the work of Nathalie Lete is continuously imaginative. Her studio in Paris is a riot of colour and a beguiling mix of
prints and collections. Yet each of Nathalie Lete's textiles, ceramics and furniture items
would sit happily in any interior setting.
How do you begin a new project?
Does each piece begin with a story?
My favorite day is when I can
choose a theme, I do painting in the morning and make ceramics in the
afternoon which I find is a good mix.
What is your favourite medium to
work in?
I have no favourites; I like to do a
bit of everything! I usually do more acrylic painting because it is the basis
of my work, however, I like to work with painting, ceramics and embroidery.
What are the common themes within
your work and why are you so drawn to them?
The common themes I choose are
around vintage toys, flowers, insects, and animals of the forest, most recently
I designed wallpaper full of fish and stones of the sea.
I have also worked on themes of anatomy,
butchery, mountains, Little Red Riding Hood and other children's tales. I like
to mix it altogether. I always return to these themes I made some years before,
it is like a family I visit and revisit them from time to time.
It is interesting how you transform
utility/ everyday items into something more magical and imaginative, was it a
reaction to what was available on the market place?
I think it was firstly for myself to
be surrounded within my own world, to feel like I created my own nest, which
gives me the feeling of security.
Then in truth I worked on these
every day products because publishers (such as Anthropologie) asked me to print my images onto their
products… It is how I make my money and give food to my family! What is magical
is that my world can make other people happy, but that was not my goal at the
beginning.
Your designs are often compared to
Outsider Art, are there any particular artists work you admire?
I like Folk Art, Outsider Art and Arts
& Craft. I am drawn to art and objects, which embody a sense of the hands
and the heart worked by them. I don't know how to explain, but when creation is
a necessity everyday.
I admire the work of Kiki Smith,
Anette Messager, Picassiette, Facteur, Cheval & Bonnard, these artists
gave me inspiration, but I have even more inspiration when I open a book of
folk art or collection books on vintage toys. I also love books with engravings
and coloured botanical illustrations or animals.
Do you have a favourite shop in
Paris that you could recommend to our readers?
My favorite shop is Astier de
Villatte store, 173 rue Saint Honoré, for what they sell of course (I am
currently exhibiting there) but also for the atmosphere which is inside the
building, the walls and the furniture are from the past and I love the past,
that I never lived but that I can imagine by reading books. A place for
imagination is the most important in life for me.
