Muriel Persil

The rigour behind naturalist sculptures

• Muriel originally trained as a painter at the Beaux-Arts in Paris
• She came to ceramics later in life and describes herself as a ‘ceramic enthusiast’
• Her floral Ophélia was her first ceramic persona

Muriel Persil took up ceramics in the mid-2010s, marking a pivotal period in her career as a painter. Her world is enchanting, delicate, offbeat, even phantasmagorical. From her expansive imagination and detailed hand-building come vibrant sandstone sculptures, organic and polymorphous, half-plant and half-animal, an aquatic underground world brimming with corals, shells and crustaceans, female heads resembling jellyfish, vases-bouquets. Muriel's work breathes mystical symbolism, influenced by romanticism. "My works explore themes of beauty, death, metamorphosis and the ephemeral," she explains. A seasoned exhibitor, Muriel now creates large installations, measuring up to 2 metres. Her Abracadabra piece in 2024 comprised of more than a hundred ceramic plates, and required four months of intensive work to produce.

Interview

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How would you describe your universe?

As a harmonious blend of nature and symbolism. My work captures the organic beauty of landscapes, incorporating symbols of life and mortality and exploring the themes of transformation and symbiosis between living beings and their environment.

Why do you prefer working with ceramics than painting?

Ceramics allow me to create three-dimensional works, offering a tactile and physical interaction with the material. Transforming raw substance into something living is profoundly enriching. However, in the application of colours, I remain connected to my past as a painter.

Who inspired you artistically?

Throughout different periods of my life, many artists have strongly inspired me, notably Caravaggio and John Everett Millais, whose work Ophélia greatly influenced my ceramic work.

How do you tackle the theme of transformation in your work?

As a ceramicist, I can be a witness and an actor of transformation. My work is not just about shaping clay, but about celebrating the beauty and diversity of life, like a tribute to nature, resilience, and the inherent ability for transformation in all living things.

Muriel Persil is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2015

Works

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