Nelly Saunier: High Priestess of Feather Art
Today, « Caractères Paris » visits the studio of Nelly Saunier, a renowned feather artist whose work over the past thirty years has continuously promoted and elevated the art of feathers, captivating and enchanting audiences worldwide.
Nelly’s relationship with feathers began as a personal connection to birds and nature. Much like a marriage, this encounter became clear to her at the age of 14, marking the moment when feather art became her calling. In the 1980s, when feathers were being replaced by other materials, Nelly took a stand for this nearly forgotten profession. Her dedication and communion with birds enabled an entire generation to rediscover and preserve this rare and exceptional craft.
Nelly has never stopped experimenting, always seeking new ways to challenge traditional uses and push the boundaries of her favored material, feathers, to explore new artistic fields.
Feathers: Between Reality and Illusion
Transcending traditional featherworking techniques, Nelly Saunier manipulates feathers and reinterprets materials to create unexpected visual effects, unveiling new creative universes.
Her work is driven by the goal of blending reality and illusion, crafting trompe-l’œil where the two coexist harmoniously to enchant the viewer’s gaze. Her imaginative recreations of nature merge with reality, and as she says, “Diverting elements to serve enchantment: surprising people is my unique expression; that’s my signature.”
Nelly highlights the lightness, delicacy, and colors of feathers, taking us on a journey beyond the ordinary. In her Transformed Natures series, feathers become flowers, evoking Diderot’s words from the 1763 Salon: “You understand nothing of this magic... Approach, and everything blurs, flattens, and disappears; step back, and everything is created and revealed.”
The Bird as a Spiritual Link Between Humans and Nature
Like a second skin, the ethereal world of birds merges with Nelly’s inner universe. She knows every aspect of birds—their details, nuances, and particularities. This infinite world of birds fuels her creativity, helping her reestablish the connection between humans and nature.
This inseparable link is central to her work, both in the subjects she chooses—trees, flowers—and in the material she uses, which recalls birds in flight. It speaks of nature, airiness, and reverie. In a world where most people live in cities, Nelly invites us to rediscover and rebuild our connection with nature. Poetically, in her piece Arabustier, she brings together the idea of birds in trees by dressing branches with new foliage made of feathers. We no longer see the feather but instead a flower or a leaf. The material fades into the background, letting nature take center stage.
Nelly’s works disorient us, playing with nature and illusion, texture and the infinite richness of feathers. Through trompe-l’œil, illusions, and metamorphoses, she transports us elsewhere. Master of her craft, Nelly continues her career by offering us a new vision where divine enchantment hovers, and the spirit of the bird reigns supreme.
All that remains is to dream.
Paris, May 7, 2020
