Portrait & artistic approach
Kevin Trouillet
Originally from Lower Normandy, I left home at a young age, first to study graphic industries, then to travel across France and Europe in a converted van.
After arriving in Creuse in 2022, I discovered woodturning by chance, through an unexpected encounter.
The first shavings were decisive. Today, I cannot imagine doing anything other than turning, sculpting, and sanding wood.
Les premiers copeaux ont étés décisifs…. Aujourd’hui, je ne me vois pas faire autre chose que tourner, sculpter, poncer….
artistic approach
My work is rooted in instinct, material and gesture. Through woodturning, I seek simple and tense forms, where curves, flaws, grain and movement become part of the piece. Each work is shaped by hand, in direct dialogue with the wood and what it allows.
Through woodturning, I create unique pieces that stand between sculpture, art object and fine craft. Each creation carries the traces of wood, fire, texture, colour, and the choices made throughout the making process. This approach takes shape in my unique wood-turned works, where curves, textures, fire and living material come together.
Curve, Material and Instinct
The curve holds a central place in my work. It guides the form, the volume and the presence of each piece. I seek natural lines, whether taut or delicate, capable of evoking a feeling before they even need to be explained.
Instinct plays an important role in this search. Woodturning requires precision, but also a form of listening: observing the wood, accepting its tensions, its flaws and its surprises, then finding the right direction from what it offers.
Wood as a Starting Point
Wood is the starting point of every creation. Its grain, density, irregularities, tensions and colours guide the piece as much as my drawing or initial intention.
I work with what the material offers: a pronounced grain, a crack, a scorched area, a natural contrast or an imperfection that can sometimes become the heart of the piece. Each piece of wood imposes its own rhythm, its own limits and its own possibilities.
Fire, Texture and Colour
Fire and texture allow me to transform the surface without erasing the identity of the wood. Burning, brushing, ebonising, pigments and colour are used to reveal relief, accentuate growth rings, strengthen contrasts, or bring greater depth to the piece.
I seek finishes that feel alive, sometimes dark, sometimes intense, where the material remains present. Colour is not used to conceal the wood, but to enter into dialogue with it, like an additional skin laid over the form.
Between Fine Craft and Unique Pieces
Each creation is made as a unique piece. Even when a form or an idea returns, the wood, proportions, textures and finishes make every object different.
My work stands between fine craft and contemporary sculpture: it remains deeply connected to gesture, tools and material, while seeking a strong artistic presence, capable of existing within an interior, a collection or an exhibition space.