STORIES FROM THE ATELIER: ULYSSE THIEBAUX
- eliane de luca peres
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
i am pleased to introduce the work of young french jeweller ulysse thiebaux: Brut et Precieux.
his contemporary rings are defined by richly textured surfaces, organic forms and a distinctly sculptural quality, resulting in pieces with an intriguing tactile presence. i rather enjoy the manner in which his pieces are presented "floating" on his instagram page. it gives it all an ethereal atmosphere, much in line with his particular style, brut and precieux!
I trained as a boilermaker with the Compagnons du Devoir, where I learned to work material in a direct way: bending, welding, shaping metal without shortcuts.
The workshop was also a very physical environment — the smell of heated steel, welding fumes, the grinding wheel screaming, hands blackened at the end of the day.
This experience was fundamental.
It gave me a tangible understanding of material, but more importantly, the feeling that anything could be made. That creation is not an abstract idea, but a concrete ability.
I later stepped away from that environment to develop a more personal approach. Jewelry naturally became my medium, more intimate, more demanding, where every detail matters.
The scale changes, but the relationship to the gesture remains the same. In my studio, the micromotor runs in the background, and the light is neutral, around 5400 Kelvin, the same temperature used in gemology, as it preserves the true color of the stones.
I’m drawn to stones with inclusions; they carry a depth and character that flawless, high-priced stones often lack.
My process does not begin with a fixed drawing. It develops through a constant back-and-forth between intuition and reaction to the material. A stone can trigger a piece, an accidental texture can define a form.
I give space to the unexpected: irregularities from casting are not systematically corrected — they become points of departure. There is a deliberate element of improvisation.
I work in particular with Delft clay casting, a direct and demanding process that produces raw textures and sometimes unpredictable forms. The moment of casting is always a threshold , waiting, heat, then discovery. Nothing is fully guaranteed.
This relationship to unpredictability interests me; it creates a tension between control and what escapes it. The piece is not about perfect mastery, but about finding balance.
My influences are diffuse: organic forms, architecture, ancient motifs, mythological figures. Certain elements recur — spirals, faces, almost archaic volumes. These references are not illustrative; they act more as underlying structures or resonances.
I deliberately distance myself from standardized jewelry — overly polished, overly symmetrical, often designed as disposable objects. I aim instead to create pieces with presence and density. Weight, texture, and how the piece evolves over time are essential. A matte surface, for instance, retains its character far better than a polished finish that gradually fades.
Each piece is unique. It becomes a way of expressing a sensitivity to singular objects — pieces that cannot be found elsewhere.
I position myself between craftsmanship and an artistic approach. The gesture remains central, but the intention goes beyond fabrication. What I seek is to create objects that endure — both through their material and through the experience they convey.
