Pierre Culot’s family home where he lived, raised a family and created. His passion and gift for pottery led him to build a beautiful studio connected to the main house. The artists in residence are invited to live and work in the family home and studio.
« Pierre used to say to his collaborators that the earth had a memory »
Pascal, October 2016
The workshop is not just a place of commemoration. This space celebrates Pierre’s memory, but above all it aims to let it live on and be a shining light. Pierre used to say to his collaborators that the earth had a memory. When you mould a piece, any pressure, any release is done delicately but without hesitation. Any sudden movement is a shock. Any carelessness is echoed in the earth. You can’t afford to make a mistake, because the firing exposes the slightest defects. Our gestures as artisans are simple, repetitive, but always different. The first firing is done at 900° C. It is called the ‘biscuit’. Then the enamel is applied. If there is a creative side to pottery, this is when it happens. This second firing is delicate. Pierre encouraged us to simply guide the nuances.
Pierre didn’t differentiate between artist and artisan. Nor between ceramicist and sculptor. What counted was the person. You have to love what you do. Twenty dishes with the same appearance each demand the same attention, but no two are identical when they emerge from the kiln. The artisan’s expression inherently abides by this know-how.
Arnaud, August 2016
The garden of the Atelier is like the common theme that is shared with the other places. It is the last space that Pierre developed. Peaceful, tranquil, it demonstrates the importance which sculpture gradually assumed in his approach. You cannot understand Pierre’s universe without discovering his garden. It is a facet of his work, important and complementary to his workshop as well as to his home. It was the last place to be developed at Roux-Miroir. In the garden, one understands how sculpture became increasingly important in the artist’s life as time went by.
