Marie-Anne Thieffry – Lace-maker, cardboard sculptor

Normandie – 1964

Marie-Anne Thieffry is a cardboard lace-maker. After studying at Penninghen and Olivier de Serres, she has obtained a diploma in interior design and worked for over twenty-five years in advertising. Having never lost sight of art, she has devoted her spare time to create artistic objects in cardboard. In 2005, she set up her own workshop, and in 2010, she left her job to devote her career to her craft.

Cardboard gives her creative freedom, thanks to its flexibility, transformability and ability to capture light. Inspired by the work of architects Franck Gehry and Shigeru Ban, she creates both art objects and sculptures for private individuals and interior designers. After preparing the molds, Marie-Anne Thieffry uses a variety of techniques, including gluing, laminating and cutting. Her work is regularly exhibited in shows and galleries.

Research and innovation

Marie-Anne Thieffry has a strong ecological conscience. She uses recycled cardboard and shapes it according to her imagination. She experiments this soft yet rough material which allows her to play with volumes, fullness and emptiness. She tirelessly seeks to evolve these techniques to create unexpected worlds.

Transmission

Marie-Anne Thieffry revisits the skills of lighting manufacturers and sculptors with cardboard. To perpetuate her creative techniques, she passes them on to trainees, whom she welcomes every year.

Fondation Rémy Cointreau has helped Marie-Anne Thieffry in 2019. It has supported her in the acquisition of a laser cutter so that she spends less time cutting cardboard and more time making the pieces.