Translated by Bethszabee Garner
This summer, MO.CO Montpellier is dedicating a major retrospective to her, “Sur un os” (On a Bone), while at the Marmottan Museum she is engaging in dialogue with Berthe Morisot, and in Aubusson she is weaving a vibrant tribute to a committed George Sand. We met her in her studio in Normandy, at the heart of a busy period.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: Many of your works play on states of metamorphosis. Is this, in essence, a way of naming what eludes you, what remains in flux?
Françoise Pétrovitch: Yes, there is something of that. Painting and drawing are fixed arts: you can take everything in at a glance. Unlike literature, there is no narrative unfolding, no story that builds over time. Yet I like the fact that within this fixity, we sense something akin to movement, a vibration, like a fragment of an ephemeral state. And I like the fact that in this grasping, we have the impression that we are facing something that is going to move, that is going to transform before our eyes. It is a fragile, suspended tension.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: That's what we feel in your portraits of adolescents in the midst of change.
F.P.: Adolescence is a subject that has always been with me. Even at the age of 20, I was already drawing figures that were a projection of myself. I've always drawn, I've always wanted to do that. I've never had any other desire. It's a deep, almost organic desire. And I've never stopped. Other elements have come along: animals, landscapes, dialogues with ancient painting... But this youthfulness, this persistent androgyny—what we now call genderfluid—has remained. In fact, even when I draw, I don't really know if it's a boy or a girl.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: Is metamorphosis also your way of working, not just your theme?
F.P.: Especially for ink drawings. It diffuses in water, the shapes move, transform. When you see me working, you understand that the image is made at the same time as it is created. It's a living process. We made a video showing this work: I drew on several glass plates, like a small theater. We filmed each stage, then the drawings were erased. They no longer exist. Only the video preserves their memory. This idea of successive screens, depth, layers of glass, can be found in the immersive installation at Mo.Co. There will be an immersion of sound and light, a space where you are literally immersed in the work.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: And yet, with ink, you can't really go back.
F.P.: Technically, yes, we could retouch it. But I refuse to do so. I like this risk-taking, this irreversibility. It's all the more important to me because I've seen, in some ceramists for example, how fascination with the material can take over. The clay, the glaze, their magical transformations can end up absorbing us. We become almost like little servants to these materials, to the point of forgetting what we wanted to say. It's a trap to avoid.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: One inevitably thinks of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Is there a seminal work for you? And what is your relationship with poetry?
F.P.: It's impossible to name a single work. Tastes evolve, are constructed, are deconstructed. But poetry, yes, it accompanies me. I've read a lot of Pierre Reverdy and Sylvia Plath. What I like about poetry are the fragments, the shards. They're not fixed things, they're extracts of essence. It's not pompous, it's a more rigid, more refined form of poetry. This ties in with my relationship with images: it's about capturing the essence, avoiding chatter. The works that touch me the most are those I can enter into, no matter what stage of my life I'm at. Those that leave space for us to return to them, to dive into them differently, years later.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: Your colors also play on this boundary: neither saturated nor pastel...
F.P.: Yes, they are somewhat ambiguous colors. What interests me is their relationship to each other: a clear hue juxtaposed with another, dirtier, desaturated one. This dialogue creates tension and breathing space.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: One might think of an aesthetic of the unfinished, but that's not quite it?
F.P.: No, it's not unfinished. Everything is there, but suspended. These are fragmentary moments, not completely “assembled.” As if we were remaining at the level of the unconscious.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You often mention the place of silence in your works.
F.P.: Yes, my painting isn't talkative. I see it as the opposite of large historical compositions, full of stories and details. I like the work to leave space for the viewer, not to say everything. It's an invitation to the imagination.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: This openness to the viewer is also an artistic stance.
F.P.: Yes, the idea is to be active when faced with the work. It's not fast-consumption art. The viewer needs to be able to project themselves, to activate their own imagination. That's also why I play with white space, with unpainted areas. I like works to live over time, to be able to accompany us over the long term.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You're also preparing a major exhibition at MO.CO in Montpellier (1), somewhere between a retrospective and a creation?
F.P.: It's not intended to be a classic retrospective. We're going to mix very old works that have never been shown with recent creations. We're playing with time. What interests me is showing that things were already there from the beginning. Ultimately, when you work, you know that this common thread exists. It's obvious.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You recently worked on Berthe Morisot (2) with an exhibition that is currently at the Marmottan Museum.
F.P.: The Marmottan Museum gave me carte blanche. Rather than Monet, I chose Berthe Morisot. She is a fascinating artist, both melancholic and free. Her life was not easy, despite a certain bourgeois comfort. In fact, on her death certificate, the town hall noted “no profession.” She painted all her life, exhibited in salons, and sold her works. She was far from being a Sunday amateur. Morisot embodies this generation of creative women, strong yet constrained. I chose Roses trémières from among her works because of its slightly off-center garden. I liked the feeling of being outside the frame, as if you were turning your head. It is a modest work, but one with great power.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You also mentioned the role of the gallery owner in your career.
F.P.: For me, a good gallery owner is a partner. Someone who doesn't just sell, but who accompanies, who shares a vision, projects. It's a relationship of trust, almost an alliance against our own anxieties. They must have this dual quality: a passion for art and depth of analysis, a real knowledge of art history.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You also taught at Estienne for many years.
F.P.: Yes, for thirty-five years. It didn't change my work, but it was very enriching. There was a sense of freshness, a pure love of drawing, simple but essential questions: how does a line end? Why this paper and not another? It was a beautiful way to stay connected to the essential.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: How do you balance fame, projects, and creation today?
F.P.: You have to be organized, surrounded by people, and know how to preserve spaces of solitude. This physical distance must also exist in your mind. My studio, secluded and quiet, is essential. That's where I refocus.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: You are also working on a large tapestry (3) for Aubusson, in homage to George Sand.
F.P.: Yes, a four-year project. The tapestry will be 23 meters long and will be completed in June 2026. Through this work, I have discovered another side to George Sand: her commitment to nature and the education of young girls in rural areas. She was ahead of her time, both an activist and an artist. This kind of project stimulates me deeply: breaking out of repetition, exploring new territory. Encounters with fascinating people, or projects like this tapestry, rekindle that desire.
Désirée De Lamarzelle: How would you define this desire?
F.P.: We are in a dynamic of invention, curiosity, and constant reinvention. There are always parallel projects: travel, trials, technical experiments. We search, we test, we try complex things we've never done before. It's all part of the same momentum. But each time, what drives me is to go where I have not yet set foot.
Article written by Désirée De Lamarzelle, featured in issue 12 of OniriQ magazine
(3) “Hommage à George Sand,” Françoise Pétrovitch at the Cité de la tapisserie Aubusson.
