Head of a Women, 1975

Andrée (1936-) and Michel Hirlet (1936-2020) are a Paris-based duo of ceramicists, who have been creating together for decades. Their story began in 1958 at the École des Métiers d’Art, then housed within the walls of what would later become the Picasso Museum.

The Hirlets are known for their uncompromising craftsmanship: they produce their own chamotte stoneware, prepare their glazes from scratch, and blend pigments to achieve the exact hues they envision. Every stage of the proces, from material creation to firing is carried out by their own hands.

Their distinctive style emerged from a technical challenge. While shaping monumental forms, they were forced to cut them to fit inside the kiln. Refusing to slice them crudely, they instead fragmented the pieces in a way that gave rise to what they call combinatory volumes: geometric figures that interlock, overlap, and nest together, with the seams themselves becoming graphic elements.

Today, their work stands as a testament to innovation born from constraint, an exploration of geometry, material, and the poetic interplay of form.

New York Times article