Sculptor completes residency at Catalan tannery
15/05/2017
This is the second time LVMH has asked an artist to take up residence in a tannery under a programme it calls LVMH Métiers d’Art: in 2016, French artist Thomas Mailaender took up residency at the Tanneries Roux facility in Romans-sur-Isèrethe.
Concentrating on Riba Guixà’s production of entrefino lambskin leather, Amandine Guruceaga has produced 15 works and will publish a book on her experience. She was also able to help the tannery test new production processes and combine colours in new ways.
At the end of her time at Riba Guixà, Ms Guruceaga said: “This collaboration has been extremely stimulating in both directions because the artisans at the tannery shared their expertise in working with a material with which they are intimately familiar, while I was able to suggest different ways to use the machines they are accustomed to.”
Riba Guixà was founded in 1932 by Joan Riba Guixà, who learned the art of leather manufacture through working with his father, a producer of soling leather. The company is still run by fourth-generation representatives of his family today, although LVMH, a long-time customer, acquired a stake in 2015.
At first, Riba Guixà devoted itself to making gloving leathers, but in the 1960s it also began processing entrefino lambskins for the clothing market. In addition, it now makes lambskin leathers for footwear and leathergoods.
Image: LVMH, Alba Yruela
Share this story:
