12 WOMEN – 12 MONTHS
PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN
A series of portraits, one each month, presenting twelve exceptionnel women in their creative environment of work and passion, all experts in their own field.
Discover these remarkable personalities and their startling answers to the famous ‘Le questionnaire de Proust’ !
photographe Jonas Ingerstedt
N° 12 : Amanda Wärff
“The Graphic designer”
Amanda with her sharp creative eye, intense curiosity and imaginative mind is our twelfth and last portrait!
As a graphic designer and exceptional typographer, Amanda navigates between these many skills with remarkable depth and insight where she approaches her visual compositions with her core design principles of free form and mouvement to breathe life into her designs.
Within several different disciplines, such as corporate identity, book covers, logos and product packages, Amanda’s creative process is all about embracing multiple compositions to build up unique visual layouts. Her deep love of typography combined with her use of space and line, her understanding of color and form and modernist aesthetics allows her to play and reinvent endlessly.
She is also a master of the negative white space, which she makes use of to bring balance to a layout, allowing the eye to rest and to flow through, as a sort of structured fluidity.
Just as the notorious graphic designer Saul Bass said :
« Interesting things are born when the creative impulse is cultivated by curiosity, freedom and structure ».
Amanda has attended the Rhode Island School of Design and lives and works in between Stockholm, Sweden and Losne in Bourgogne, France. She is currently working on a design project based on the heritage of the renowned Swedish author, Astrid Lindgren. Amanda is also the creator of the Charlotte Bialas logo !
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
Objectivity and the permission I give myself to change my mind
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
Peace on earth
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever experienced ?
Champagne waking up every birthday, served by my husband
Which talent would you most like to have ?
To do the Bonaly in skating (a backward leap, landing on one foot)
Which living person do you most admire ?
Eli Amaris Steen
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Medaka Kurokami and Pippi Longstocking
Who are your favorite writers ?
Charles Baudelaire, Marguerite Duras, P. O. Enquist, Anders Jansson, Olivia Laing and Marcel Proust
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
My children
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
None. As long as I’m alive I would like to live in as real a country as possible
What do you regret the most ?
Nothing at all, I regret nothing
Which flower would you like to be ?
Forget-me-not
Who are your favorite artists ?
David Bowie, Martha Graham and Agnes Martin
Which bird would you like to be ?
Kingfisher
What is your greatest fear ?
To no longer take risks, to no longer dare to make a mistake
What is your most treasured possession ?
My friends, my garden and my family
What is your favorite occupation ?
To live everyday life and seek meaning in the present moment
What would you change if you could ?
Everything
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
Amelia Earhart, Meryl Streep or Uluru (Ayers Rock in Northern Territory in Australia)
What is your current state of mind ?
Find structured fluidity and embrace happiness
What is your favourite motto ?
“Beauty is always weird”
N° 11 : MARTINA MUNTZING
“The Artist”
Martina, with her distinct philosophical mind, exceptional artistic mastery and irresistible green eyes is our eleventh portrait.
As a painter and draughtsman, and as one of the most celebrated artists in the contemporary Scandinavian scene, Martina’s paintings touch on something both intimate and distant, both sacred and profane where the real subject is the parenthesis that constitutes the existence between birth and death.
Martina’s paintings go beyond the physical figure of the subject, exploring the psychological dimension of the person’s mind and emotions, capturing a palpable stillness, like a fateful, subconscious premonition. As if the painting has brought time to a halt.
Almost all the subjects Martina chooses to represent tell a part of herself. They are close to home, focusing on immediate family; children growing up, loved ones disappearing, the hardship of adulthood etc
Each work is patiently executed with time-consuming precision and meticulous details. As a contrast, within the paint-blotched walls of her vast atelier, Martina surrounds herself with a deliberate disorder. Piles of stacked books, reams of papers, discarded painting materials, empty food boxes and used teabags scattered over the floor, as if she wanted to liberate herself from her surroundings to fully be able to concentrate on her work.
As Francis Bacon once said :
« I think chaos may be a spur to create order and to cohabit amongst memories and wounds ».
Martina is based in Stockholm, and her work is represented in the collection of The Modern Museum of Stockholm, amongst others.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
I am kind
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
To rest from the ego
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever experienced ?
The chest of Bryan Ferry
Which talent would you most like to have ?
To be able to fly
Which living person do you most admire ?
My son, for his unstoppable energy and big heart.
My daughter for her vivid brain and perspicacity
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind
Who are your favorite writers ?
Cora Sandell, Doris Lessing, Kerstin Ekman
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
The times I wanted to give up, but didn’t
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
All countries are fictitious
What do you regret the most ?
Unnecessary uncertainty over the years
Which flower would you like to be ?
Anemone
Who are your favorite artists ?
Hans Holbein, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Ingres
Which bird would you like to be ?
Crow
What is your greatest fear ?
To die from those I love
What is your most treasured possession ?
None
What is your favorite occupation ?
My life
What would you change if you could ?
Nothing
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
A wind
What is your current state of mind ?
Open
What is your favourite motto ?
“In the storm the oak’s root is fixed”
N° 10 : TINOU LE JOLY SÉNOVILLE
“The Colorist”
Tinou, with her poetic mind, lively curiosity and sense of childlike wonder is our tenth portrait.
As an illustrator and artist navigating between different creative territories, Tinou’s work is as varied as her creative sources of inspiration. Her delicately poetic and magical world is a play of light where the colors are vibrant, the lines are sharp and the shapes are dancing.
From fashion to children’s books and from textile to communication, it is by browsing through Tinou’s artwork that you realize the multiplicity and diversity of her creative disciplines, where her chromatic palette, refined line drawings and complex compositions are astonishing. Amongst her multiple skills, Tinou favours the technique of « decoupage » using gouache painted on cut-out tissue paper, reconciling the fragile and harmonious balance between form and color.
As Tinou herself say’s : ” The gesture of cutting, unites painting, color and line, finding the fluidity of the brush by drawing with a pair of simple scissors. ”
Tinou has worked with selected institutions worldwide such as Comedie Française, Amnesty International and Museo Del Prado just to mention a few. She has also worked for many prestigious brands such as Swarovski, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
Enthusiasm
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
A day out of time, with my family, friends to read, garden, draw, create and work on a new project.
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever done ?
Smoke and speak my mind
Which talent would you most like to have ?
Ability to speak in all languages
Which living person do you most admire ?
My children.
I admire their ability to be so imaginative and creative, imagining
a brighter future in a time full of uncertainty
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Edward Scissorhands, for the scissors
Who are your favorite writers ?
Classics, Kessel, Camus, Prévert, Vian, Cendrars, Kundera, Hemingway, Herman Hess, Charlotte Delbo, Grace Paley, Thomas Mann, Spinoza, Colette, Alice Zeniter… and many other crime novel authors
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
My freedom
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
In Paradise
What do you regret the most ?
That the word Regret exists
Which flower would you like to be ?
Mimosa
Who are your favorite artists ?
All those who are not yet born
Which bird would you like to be ?
The Phoenix
What is your greatest fear ?
Not to die?
What is your most treasured possession ?
My eyes, my right hand
What is your favorite occupation ?
Research, draw, imagine
What would you change if you could ?
Everything, I’ll keep my feet
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
A tree covered in fruit and flowers, preferably in front of the sea, with branches to shelter and welcome birds and climbers
What is your current state of mind ?
BLUE
What is your favourite motto ?
“I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares” from Saul Bass
N° 9 : SISSEL WIBOM
“The Portraitist”
Sissel, with her force of expression, her extreme sensitivity and her sharp sense of detail is our ninth portrait.
A painter and portraitist by profession and a remarkable ceramist by nature, Sissel navigates between these many skills with striking precision and rare vitality.
Sissel deliberately uses traditional means while painting, and builds portraits of an intense reality : the line is flawless, precise and refined, in a representation without embellishment and at the service of the brush.
Sissel’s paintings sometimes captures its model even more objectively than a photograph. Exploring her subjects beyond themselves, she manages to create through her paintings a singular relationship of intimacy.
As Sissel herself says:
“ When two completely unknown people walk into a room, cross the threshold, seek a moment to talk, share an instant and, cross paths, we are suddenly touched by the fact that the other exists.”
This reflection confirms what is going on between the model and the painter. An intense bond, a touching, personal and humanly vibrant intimacy. A sort of forced telescoping of two subjectivities brought together around the painting.
Sissel lives and works between Sweden and France where she carries out both public and private orders. She is represented, among others, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Royal Theater and the State Council for the Arts and in several private collections in Sweden.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
My sense for details
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
Watch your children laugh
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever done ?
Renting a two day old Mercedes
Which talent would you most like to have ?
To be able to write
Which living person do you most admire ?
My friend Marie-Pierre
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Ann in Grönkulla
Who are your favorite writers ?
Imre Kertesz, Jane Austen
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
Two commissioned portraits for the Swedish Royal Theater, Dramaten
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
The land without borders
What do you regret the most ?
That I didn’t divorce before
Which flower would you like to be ?
A rose
Who are your favorite artists ?
Chardin, Lucien Freud and Paula Modersohn- Becker
Which bird would you like to be ?
An Albatross
What is your greatest fear ?
Being powerless
What is your most treasured possession ?
My body
What is your favorite occupation ?
Being in an artistic process. See and spend time with my daughters
What would you change if you could ?
My inability to change things I see that I should change
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
/
What is your current state of mind ?
Satisfied
What is your favourite motto ?
Everyone does their best, regardless of the result
N° 8 : MELANIE SCARCIGLIA
“The Publisher”
Mélanie with her genuinely altruistic nature, charismatic persona and striking determination is our eighth portrait.
As co-founder of the acclaimed art book publishing house,Three Star Books, Melanie operates with a fearless ease between world famous artists, notorious collectors and renowned museum curators and art galleries, dedicated to bringing to light her passion for her artist’s books.
Three Star books, founded in 2007 with her partner in life, the illustrious Christophe Boutin, is publishing artist’s books in limited editions with the finest contemporary artists, such as Maurizio Cattelan, John Baldessari, Sylvie Fleury and Cyprien Gaillard just to mention a few. Together, they are providing books in multiple forms that are artworks themselves – from handmade and lusciously tactile to abstract, sculptural and monumental.
A wildly varied collection of inventive and spectacular work that challenges expectations. Publications that strike a perfect balance between experimental ways of book-making, respect of the content and attention to printing quality and sometimes also a powerful study between two and three dimensional forms.
As Francis bacon said in his essays :
“Books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”
Three Star books are definitely to be chewed and digested !
Based in Paris, where they have their office and studio, which doubles as an exhibition space, Mélanie and Christophe are also involved in numerous art fairs and workshops around the world.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
Tenacity
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
Holidays in Umbria with my family and friends
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever done ?
A dinner at Cartet
Which talent would you most like to have ?
Play the piano
Which living person do you most admire ?
My genius husband
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Emma in Amore by Luca Guadagnino
Who are your favorite writers ?
Currently, Simone de Beauvoir, Elena Ferrante and James Baldwin
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
My daughter, Isolde
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
In paradise
What do you regret the most ?
None
Which flower would you like to be ?
Mimosa flower
Who are your favorite artists ?
These days, Josef and Anni Albers
Which bird would you like to be ?
A hummingbird because it goes very very fast and it’s the only one that can fly backwards
What is your greatest fear ?
The depression
What is your most treasured possession ?
Ideas
What is your favorite occupation ?
To cook
What would you change if you could ?
I will abolish capitalism
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
A flower
What is your current state of mind ?
To regret nothing
What is your favourite motto ?
” What does not kill you makes you stronger. “
Friedrich Nietzsche
N° 7 : ANN WÅHLSTRÖM
“The Glass Artist”
Ann, with her exceptional aesthetic voice, strong creative vision, and unforgettable laughter is our seventh portrait.
As one of the most celebrated Scandinavian glass artist, Ann has risen to fame due to her creativity, skill and persistence. Ann lives, breathes, and thinks in glass !
Influenced by the free approach to design that she encountered at Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle, her work retains a distinct identity through the surprising monumental scale, unpredictable organic forms and minimalist choice of colors. Ann is drawn to the spontaneity of the process, starting off by drawing loose nature-inspired patterns in watercolor before the shapes grows in the hands of the glass blower.
« Glass does not want to be tamed, it has a language of its own. The shapes, colours and patterns follow the glass as air, heat and gravity make their marks » Ann says.
Unlike any other material, glass is modelled from a cooling, moving liquid, frozen in time at the very last second as the glass sets. It’s a carefully choreographed tempo between the glassblower and the artist sharing a momentum of swiftness and slowness, from hot to cold, like a conductor with his orchestra.
Ann’s work is appreciated all over the world and can be found in several museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the National Museum in Stockholm just to mention a few. She has also worked for the prestigious Swedish brands Kosta Boda and Svenskt Tenn.
In 2019, Ann was awarded the Prins Eugen medal by His majesty the King of Sweden.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
Careful but determined
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
Having a fantastic dinner with friends in a beautiful place
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever done ?
Taken a private water taxi in Venice
Which talent would you most like to have ?
More fearlessness
Which living person do you most admire ?
My Mother
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Margaret Atwoods character, June Offred in the Hand Maids Tales.
Who are your favorite writers ?
Tove Jansson who wrote books both for children and adults is one!
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
Getting over cancer
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
Venice, which almost is an imaginary world
What do you regret the most ?
No regrets
Which flower would you like to be ?
I wanted to be named Blue bell as a little girl but now I think wild rose!
Who are your favorite artists ?
Tony Oursler, Giuseppe Penone, Anish Kapoor, Dan Wolgers….
What is your most treasured possession ?
Our apartment
What is your favorite occupation ?
Planning new food dishes
What would you change about yourself if you could ?
That’s hard….Not my lips anyway
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
A cat
What is your current state of mind ?
Hesitant because of the state of the world
What is your favourite motto ?
Try again
N° 6 : SOPHIE DUF
“The Illustrator”
Sophie with her vivid intellectual mind, charismatic personality à la Françoise Sagan and striking Parisian elegance is our sixth portrait.
An illustrator and Creative Artist by trade and an exceptional cook and gardener by nature, Sophie approaches all her projects with the same appetite and inexhaustible creativity with a constant search for perfection.
A graduate of Science Po in 1985, Sophie spends several years working for numerous politicians, as a ghostwriter as well as working in financial institutions, but develops very quickly a curiosity for different artistic currents.
In 2009, although never having attended any artistic school, Sophie launched herself into the world of drawing as an autodidact, just like the famous illustrators Sempé and Pierre Le-Tan before her.
Sophie rapidly becomes a master of the « line » . With a certain economy of traits she achieves a particular balance made up of unexpected tensions and foreseen coincidences. An invented equilibrium with a delicate, poetic pencil stroke full of humor, fantasy and finesse. The « Duf » style is born !
From screen printing for a collection of clothes and shoes to the production of children’s books, through editions of wallpaper and furniture fabric and many other unique objects, it is by browsing through Sophie’s designs that one realizes the multiplicity and diversity of her work.
A collector at heart, Sophie has been watching over the foundation of the painter Charles-Henri Monvert with whom she lived in her youth for several years. Master of geometric abstraction, the artist who died in 2018, has just entered the collections of the MNAM-Centre Pompidou.
What is your most outstanding character trait ?
Relentlessness
What is your idea of perfect happiness ?
A happiness greater than the previous one
What is the most extravagant thing you have ever done ?
Do Paris-Nice, via the Napoleon road, at the wheel of my Triumph TR6
Which talent would you most like to have ?
A beautiful mezzo voice
Which living person do you most admire ?
People are versatile, it is better to wait until they die before admiring them
Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in fiction ?
Ulysse
Who are your favorite writers ?
Musil, Flaubert, Tolstoi
What do you consider is your greatest achievements ?
The next one
In which imaginary country would you like to live ?
None, reality always outweighs fiction for both good and bad
What do you regret the most ?
Having sold my Triumph TR6 after an accident
Which flower would you like to be ?
An Angelic
Who are your favorite artists ?
The ones I collect
Which bird would you like to be ?
An Avocet
What is your greatest fear ?
To fly
What is your most treasured possession ?
Unfortunately my glasses
What is your favorite occupation ?
To draw, preferably in my studio in Villiers sous Grez
What would you change about yourself if you could ?
Impatience
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be ?
A painting in Venice: Giorgione’s The Tempest
