Solène Chatain

Born and raised in the enchanting region of Brittany, France, Solène embarked

on a journey of creative exploration that would span continents and captivate

her artistic spirit.

In her youth, destiny led her to fall in love with the wild landscapes of British

Columbia, where she began to wander the land, crafting exquisite quivers and

bags from birch bark and leather, later exporting her creations worldwide.

However, it was in her thirties that Solene stumbled upon the world of ceramics,

and from that moment on, there was no turning back. Her obsession

now takes her on a quest for discarded metal fragments, traces of past human

endeavours hidden in beaches and forests, which she seamlessly incorporates

into her sculptural pieces.

As a self-taught ceramic sculptor, I infuse my innermost thoughts and emotions into each of my creations. I have been exploring the fusion of silica and iron in my “iron age frescoes” series. These multimedia sculptures display materials that seeded our earth after cosmic explosions and they reflect my angst towards our environmental crisis. I often think of the metal parts of my pieces as metaphors for the technology we, human, invent out of need, revere, but in the same breath, despise and fear. My pieces might seem like echoes of historical moments, both past and potential, for humanity at large but they are also me, today, imperfect and trying.