Publications

Meghane Mathieu
Art critic, Paris

Claire Lassonnery’s work explores the transformative nature of lacquer through a practice rooted in patience, material knowledge and repetition. Layer after layer, the artist develops surfaces where opacity gives way to transparency and where colour emerges through depth rather than surface effect.

Trained through close observation of traditional techniques in Vietnam, she progressively developed her own visual language. Rather than focusing on narrative, her work finds its identity in texture. The material itself becomes her signature, structuring the surface through relief, density and subtle chromatic tensions.

Her paintings are built through a slow process of accumulation and refinement. Pigments interact, sometimes merging, sometimes resisting one another, allowing light to circulate within the composition. Through this approach, the pictorial space expands beyond the surface and becomes an immersive perceptual field.

Lassonnery’s work can be understood as a form of material abstraction where gesture, time and matter remain inseparable. Her paintings function as contemplative spaces, inviting the viewer into a silent dialogue with the work.

Between control and surrender, discipline and intuition, Claire Lassonnery develops a practice in which the material ultimately guides the outcome. This balance gives her work its distinctive presence and quiet intensity.

Quentin Métayer
PR, Perrotin, Paris

Claire Lassonnery’s work stands out through the quiet strength of its material presence. Built layer after layer, her paintings reveal a refined approach to surface and a sensitive understanding of abstraction. The apparent simplicity of her compositions allows the material to fully express itself, creating works that convey both depth and emotional resonance.

One of the strengths of her practice lies in the precision with which each work is constructed. The surface becomes a space where light and energy emerge directly from the material, without unnecessary effects or narrative. The work remains focused on the essential elements of painting: matter, gesture and balance.

While the body of work already demonstrates a strong level of maturity, further exploration of contrasts in rhythm and material could reinforce its visual impact. Expanding formats and deepening certain formal directions may open new possibilities within her visual language.

References to artists such as Gerhard Richter, in his exploration of the dialogue between control and chance, or Hans Hartung, in the energy of gesture, resonate with Lassonnery’s attention to material tension and movement.

From a market perspective, her work shows real potential to attract collectors, particularly within Western collections. Increased visibility through exhibitions, art fairs and professional networks would further strengthen the recognition and dissemination of her work.

Eleonor Morrin
Journalist, La Gazette de Kuala Lumpur

Lacquer has become a central element of Claire Lassonnery’s artistic journey. Having lived in Asia for many years, she gradually developed a deep connection with this material before making it the core of her practice.

Her discovery of lacquer came through artistic encounters in Vietnam, where she first experimented with the medium. Despite an initial allergic reaction to traditional lacquer, she later continued her research using European lacquer, allowing her to pursue this demanding technique safely while maintaining its aesthetic qualities.

Her process relies on patience and discipline. Multiple layers are applied, dried, sanded and reworked, allowing the material itself to generate unexpected textures and movements. Through this slow construction, the surface becomes a living structure shaped by time.

Living in Malaysia has also influenced her palette. The surrounding vegetation, mineral landscapes and tropical light have progressively shifted her chromatic research toward more organic tonalities.
For Lassonnery, working with lacquer is both physical and contemplative. The process demands concentration and silence, becoming almost meditative. Perseverance and patience remain essential qualities in mastering this practice.

Nathalie Gallon
Art critic, AICA
Exhibition curator

To achieve luminous and reflective surfaces, Claire Lassonnery engages with the demanding process of lacquer painting, applying successive layers that require time, patience and precision. Each layer must dry completely before the surface is reworked, creating a slow rhythm that gradually structures the painting.

The flow of lacquer is carefully controlled so that colours remain distinct while interacting with one another. Planes appear, dissolve and recombine across the surface, suggesting a dynamic interplay of tensions within the painting. As Gilles Deleuze suggested, painting begins in the eye, as a field of forces seeking equilibrium.

Having moved away from traditional lacquer due to its allergenic nature, Lassonnery now works with European lacquer. Building on techniques learned during her training in Vietnam, she continues to develop a practice based on repetition and material transformation.

Close observation reveals subtle flows of resin forming veins, streams and chromatic striations. These traces invite the viewer into the depth of the work, where the painting becomes less an image than a material presence.

Working predominantly within square formats, Lassonnery develops an abstraction grounded in material experience. Her work navigates between control and improvisation, structure and freedom. This continuous search for balance sustains the vitality and coherence of her artistic practice.