Paris Studio Visit

On a crisp February afternoon in Paris's 13th arrondissement, photographer Enora Jourdin documented an intimate session in Arnaud Quercy's studio, capturing the authentic rhythms and rituals of contemporary artistic practice. This photographic series reveals the often-unseen processes that underlie finished works—the careful preparation of materials, the physical engagement with pigment and surface, the contemplative pauses between bursts of creative energy. The resulting images offer a rare window into the daily discipline that sustains a working artist's practice.

Quercy's studio, bathed in the distinctive golden light of late winter Paris, serves as both workspace and sanctuary. The photographs reveal an environment shaped by years of accumulated practice: carefully organized brushes and pigments, reference materials pinned to walls, works in various stages of completion creating a visual archaeology of ongoing investigation. This documentation captures the studio not as mere backdrop but as active participant in the creative dialogue between artist, material, and intention.

The series follows the arc of a working session—from the meditative preparation of surfaces and mixing of pigments to the dynamic physicality of painting itself. Jourdin's lens captures the gestural language of creation: the concentrated focus required for detailed finishing work, the broader movements of initial composition, the careful attention to edges and transitions that distinguish accomplished technique. These images reveal art-making as embodied practice, requiring complete presence while remaining open to discovery.

Perhaps most revealing are the quieter intervals—the pause to step back and assess, the contemplative examination of work in progress, the brief moments of stillness between intense creative engagement. These interludes, as essential as the active creation itself, represent the ongoing conversation between artist and emerging work. Documented during those precious February hours when Parisian light carries particular intensity, this studio visit offers an authentic portrait of contemporary artistic practice rooted in both tradition and personal vision.

Artist Statement

The studio is where ideas become tangible. It's not just a workspace—it's a place of constant dialogue between what I intend to create and what the materials want to become. Every day here teaches me something new about the delicate balance between control and surrender that defines artistic creation.

What Enora captured on that February afternoon was the authentic rhythm of work—not the romanticized notion of inspiration striking like lightning, but the steady, deliberate process of bringing ideas into physical form. The careful preparation that precedes each session, the physical engagement with materials, the contemplative moments between pieces. This is how art actually happens: through patience and persistence, through technical skill wedded to creative vision, through the willingness to remain open to what wants to emerge.

Working in Paris means engaging with centuries of artistic tradition while finding your own contemporary voice. The 13th arrondissement, with its blend of historic architecture and modern development, mirrors the dialogue between tradition and innovation that characterizes my practice. The city's light, its architectural rhythms, its cultural density all influence the work in subtle ways that reveal themselves over time.

Logistics

This was a private studio visit and photographic documentation session held on February 18, 2025, between 10:00 and 20:00 at the artist's studio in Paris 13th arrondissement. Photography by Enora Jourdin. The documentation forms part of an ongoing project to chronicle working processes of contemporary artists.