Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaux De Penfentenyo
Hi Margaux, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born and raised in Paris, I am a French multidisciplinary artist, recently settled in Miami (since April 2024).
My life journey is imbued with nomadism, multiculturalism, adventure, and travel, which have shaped my worldview and influenced my creativity. Each city and country I have lived in has shown me different colors, different lights, and different materials.
Arriving in Mexico, I discovered color. Switzerland introduced me to wood. Miami is unveiling the ocean to me.
When I arrive in a new country, a new city, I start from scratch. It’s a grand “reset” each time. It’s a reopening of all possibilities, a rebirth. I feel like a phoenix.
Painting, embroidery, weaving, woodworking, and tapestry are among the disciplines I incorporate into my artistic practice. I create unique pieces or small series that transcend the boundaries between art, craft, and design.
I create sustainable works: of high quality and environmentally friendly, using natural, recyclable, or locally sourced materials. Respect for humanity is integral to my practice, and I make it a point to collaborate with indigenous communities and master artisans, fostering their independence, preserving local know-how, and promoting cultural diversity.
My main goal?
To make people feel joy. To make them feel alive.
As a colorist, I create color palettes that offer a whole world of sensations.
My color palette is like a text without words. It is read as one reads a sentence. Color is a silent language that everyone understands.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My travels around the world fill me with excitement. I love moving to a new country, starting over, discovering everything, getting lost, and finding my way again. My taste for adventure is fully satisfied! But it’s also challenging, and each move is a real test. It’s an enormous adaptation each time. In the end, I feel both at home everywhere and nowhere at all.
That being said, my biggest challenge was my restaurant project. On February 2, 2016, my husband, Antoine, and I set off with just one suitcase each for a new adventure, heading to Mexico. An unknown country, an unknown culture, a somewhat familiar language, unfamiliar entrepreneurship, and an unfamiliar restaurant industry. At 24 and 25 years old, we dove into an intense experience, a high-stakes challenge. For me, it was a blank canvas for creativity: I designed the entire concept, the interior, and all the furniture. These would be my first pieces of furniture and it marks the beginning of my creations.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I believe the term that best defines my work is “multidisciplinary artist.” In my practice, I blend various disciplines to create unique pieces. I produce handmade textile works, embroidered and woven (cushions, dresses), design rugs in collaboration with the Manufacture de Tapis de Bourgogne, and craft wooden objects (lamps, tables, stools, benches) made by a Swiss cabinetmaker, which I also paint. Additionally, I create gouache paintings on paper. Some of my creations lean more towards design, with a functional aspect, while others fall under the fine arts category, and sometimes it’s a true fusion of the two disciplines. Some of my paintings serve as preparatory drawings for the creation of objects, such as the cushions and dresses that I have woven and embroidered in Mexico.
I specialize in color and take great pride in my palettes, which always garner attention. Seeing colors gives me immense visual pleasure, and I find great joy in combining them. Color evokes emotions in people, bringing pleasure and joy. All colors are beautiful, and it’s their combination that creates harmony or not. For me, each color is like a word, and their harmonious arrangement forms a sentence. I like to say that colors are a text without words. White, on the other hand, is like the space between words: it gives room to the colors and allows for better readability.
What’s next?
Since I arrived in Miami, I’ve developed a deep sensitivity to the ocean. It’s the first time I’ve lived by the sea, and this near-daily connection with the ocean has been incredibly inspiring. My creations are infused with oceanic spirit!
I’m currently working on a project about rising sea levels, using data from NOAA. I also volunteer with Clean Miami Beach, helping to clean up the litter left on the beach. These items often end up in the ocean, where marine animals mistake them for food. Thousands die from this, and the amount of plastic found in their bodies is staggering. I paint gouaches that reflect humanity’s harmful impact on the ocean.
I am also deeply moved by the imprisonment of Captain Paul Watson, a hero who has helped save over 5,000 whales in protected areas, which have been violated by Japanese fishing vessels that slaughter them illegally and with impunity. He is currently imprisoned in Nuuk, Greenland, at the request of Japan, which is seeking his extradition. I hope he will be released soon. I paint numerous whales in support of him and the values he stands for.
This December, I’ll be free diving in the Red Sea, in Egypt, alongside freediver and author Leina Sato, and Peggy Reboul, a communicator with living beings and an author. We’ll be in close contact with dolphins, and this experience promises to be extraordinary, further deepening my ocean-inspired creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mdepenfentenyo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdepenfentenyo/
Image Credits
Dominique Giannelli & Margaux de Penfentenyo
