Amadine Guruceaga in collaboration with Riba Guixà

For the second in the Résidences Artistiques program proposed by LVMH Métiers d'Art, the Riba Guixà tannery near Barcelona welcomed French artist Amadine Guruceaga for a six-month period in 2017 to explore new worlds of leather and colour.

Amandine Guruceaga used her residency in this tannery known for its superb Entrefino lambskin to shake up traditional techniques and revolutionise existing recipes. She was drawn to spots, veins and pores in the unprocessed material, revealing their pictorial and sculptural aspects to impart a multi-coloured, physical dimension. Entering into a rich dialogue with the tannery's talented artisans, the artist carried out various experiments with pigmentation and new ways of processing the hides. Guraceaga described the experience as "a unique opportunity to work with leather, one of mankind's oldest materials, made sublime by the infinite palette of colours of the Riba Guixà tannery." The fruits of this creative process were 24 works of art combining leather, metal and fabric, as well as a performative painting on the floor of the tannery.