valery guignon featured on moderndallas.net

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Valery Guignon
Guignon Designs

For art collectors in Dallas and across the U.S., it’s musings like these
that make Guignon’s work a delight to include in their collections.
And Guignon has a wide selection of “practical” art forms to choose
from: sculpture, lamps, lighting, scarves, purses, kimonos, and dolls —
all fashioned with the artist’s unique sensibilities.

To look at the work of Dallas artist Valery Guignon evokes
images of a child’s discovery of a beautiful seashell on the
beach; a designer’s fascination with fibers, metal, and glass; an
artist’s ability to transform common materials into art.

When asked about the inspiration
behind her work Guignon
explains, “When I think about
beginning a new piece —
a sculpture or something else
– I see an image of the final
work in my mind’s eye just
by looking at the materials
I want to use. Then the work flows
through me. I let the materials
lead me – it’s like
a dance between my will as
the designer, or imaginer, and
where the materials will let me
go. It’s important to me to
have the materials inform the
design of my work.”

Guignon originally began working with fibers to make one-of-a-kind
wearable art pieces, dyeing silks and often incorporating shells, beads,
and glass into her work. Then a metalworker friend traded a metal
sculpture for one of Guignon’s pieces, and the artist found a new
interest: welding and metalwork.

“When I first started learning how to sculpt in metal it was
somewhat intimidating, but three-dimensional metal sculpture is
my passion,” says Guignon. “Now I am fascinated with bringing
the element of glass into my creations. Both materials are drawn
through fire to be formed.” She describes the process of creating
her sculptures as drawing in metal, drawing in space, a dance
between the artist and the materials.

For Guignon, it’s the perfect medium for the modern art sensibility
so evident in her work. “I see colors, shapes, and designs in a variety
of materials. But what intrigues me is the challenge of introducing
elements that are not usually compatible -- making them
compliment each other and come alive together.”

The variety of materials Guignon uses in her art bespeaks her
broad range of interests. From scrap metal salvaged from
junkyards, aquarium gravel from pet stores, to seashells, beads,
and fused glass she creates herself, Guignon uses them all in
unique combinations. And with such a wide range of inspiring
materials, art enthusiasts can count on Guignon for
ever-evolving art forms.