Behind the scenes at Majuno
Eggshell, shagreen and gold foil printing
Some key events, turning points permanently reshape your life. When she was 16, Gwenaelle de Kergommeaux accompanied her parents to the Guimet Museum where a Japanese eggshell-covered piece of furniture caught her eye. Such an aesthetic shock never left her.
Since then, she specialized in eggshell craftsmanship but also shagreen and gold foil printing on furnishing, paintings and light fixtures, creating single pieces as well as series.
Gwenaelle followed a thousand paths that helped her transform into the artist she is today. She takes her first step in 2004: she starts working on antique furniture to “enrich it with new materials”. Little by little, and after spending a few years in China, she perfected her art by mastering eggshell inlaying, a technique held dear by Asian craftsmanship but long overlooked in the West. At the same time, she learnt how to work with gold foil and shagreen.
Using a silicon-based process only she is privy to, Gwenaelle de Kergommeaux is able to replicate the texture of shagreen, what is called the “pearl” of a ray’s skin.
The result faithfully recreates the transparency and brightness of said animal leather and produces outstanding creations.