Camille Romagnani: "The shades of the sky are transformed into matter, through ceramics"

Central Photo credits: Melemis Nicolas

Camille is a ceramist and artist living and creating between Athens and Paris. She has created a distinct and ever-evolving artistic identity that includes a wide range of techniques and materials such as ceramics, wax, sketches, words and zines. She has stated that having lived in different Athenian neighborhoods, from Victoria Square to Petralona, ​​she was fascinated by the sense of community and the way in which the public space is treated as an extension of the Greek home. At the same time, as for her, time seems to be lengthening in Greece.

Last May, she embarked on a journey of transition and evolution, figuratively and literally, leaving Athens and moving her atelier to Paris. However, it was in Greece where her artistic identity blossomed. Not only where she found the ground for experimentation, but also where she discovered ceramics. 

We talked with her about her creative process and traced all the threads that connect her work with nature, organic forms and any other reference that shaped her unique perspective.

Your work combines and experiments with ceramics, wax, drawings,words, zines! Do you find yourself enjoying and expressing a bit more through any specific of these techniques or materials or are they all part of your creative process?

My process is quite organic, I don't have a specific way of working. I like to collect : rocks, plants, images, old artisan objects and of course , from my textile design background, colors. These objects and images are always around me, on my walls both at home and the studio. I also need a connection with nature, going to the countryside or to the sea.

The zine "Botanikos'' I made was from this collection of natural elements. These organic forms are always around me, sometimes I will very specifically choose a shape and work from it, but most often I let them sleep in slowly, more subconsciously. From there, I will make connections, and ideas will appear. When I have a specific shape in mind, the final object will often look exactly like the small sketch in my notebook.

I started doing candles because I was very attracted to beeswax and I was looking for a more democratic medium. The materials themselves are all equal to me, just different ways of making shapes, and charged with different meanings.Even though I come from a design background, I very naturally moved toward artistic works. The line between the two is quite blurry in my process and I prefer it this way. Having a very tactile and artisanal approach to design.

Photo credits: Melemis Nicolas

Which were your references for your latest ceramic vase series "Couleurs du Ciel"? In what way nature and organic forms inspired your creations? Do you have any favorite creation or item that you would like to share with us ? 

The references for these are simply the colors of skies that I have seen. I always pay attention to the variations I can find wherever I am. In Greece, it's very vivid colors of blue and red/orange sunsets. On the east coast of France, the sunsets are more nuanced, the colors are more pastel and have slower gradations.

A theme that I have been working on lately is of underwater creatures and the impact of water on the shapes of things. Recently there was an exhibition of the work of Jean Painlevé at the Jeu de Paume in Paris. This exhibit had a big impact on me. Lately, I feel my shapes are becoming simpler: from my first volcano sculptures, which were quite organic, towards more geometric and demanding shapes now.

As for the space the objects end in, I don't really think about it, I'm just really happy when I see my pieces in people's homes.

Since 2019, you've been going back and forth between France and Greece. What inspired you in Athens and how this was reflected through your work ? 

Any collaborations with Greek artists you may point out through these years? 

In Greece I found my inspiration in the hills, the sea and the islands. Moving to Athens after my studies gave me some space to experiment. I studied textile design and it's when I moved that I decided to experiment with different materials and techniques I had wanted to try for a while, like ceramics.

I collaborated with the brand “It's a shirt”, by Christina Christodoulou, for a collection of coats with handmade ceramic buttons. Other than that, I had some shows in artist run space, bookshops, hotels, and design fairs.

Pictures from her new atelier in Paris

Recently, you posted about your new studio in Paris. How long have you been working there? Are there any differences and similarities with the Athens studio you used to work at?

Yes ! I found the space in May, so it's very recent. I'm just starting to really settle in. It's in a pretty green courtyard, in an ancient ceramic manufacture. It is quite the opposite to the studio in Athens, which was an industrial loft. I’m grateful for the space I had in Athens which gave me a real possibility to experiment. The new place feels closer to nature in the city, and I sense it’s somewhere I could be for a long time.

Any future plans, aspirations or collaboration you would like to share with us?

The studio in itself is a longtime dream and a project.  I want it to be open for collaborations and to the public in different ways.  

I have some shows coming up. Volume Ceramics, a gallery that has represented me for a while, is opening their first physical space in Paris on September 7th .  I will have a show in Brussels this October , with Les Précieuses.  At the same time, I try to work with some new materials and craftspeople.

Photo credits: Melemis Nicolas | Images from her exhibition, Passages in Paris, at Galerie Variation, last March.