This daring and very-demanding creator fascinates both by his own story and by his unique works, so incredible, almost hypnotic of beauty and refinement that take us on a disorientating journey. Julien Feller is a UFO in the world of contemporary artistic creation, who is more than leaving his mark with such a singular and sublime expression of lace, presented in trompe-l’oeils on admirable wooden sculptures. What an amazing mix of materials and shapes, with a seeking for a millimeter-sized perfection, and such transcendence of his work that challenges and delights the soul. And once again, that contrasts with an accessible and natural young artist who advances freely in the quest for himself, through listening, concentration and openness to the world.
His love of wood
Julien Feller was born in Messancy, a French-speaking commune in Belgium located in the Walloon region in the province of Luxembourg. “I had a normal childhood, in a small village, the most local and rural life in the flat land.” It was close to nature, yet close to a small town, Arlon and Luxembourg City. The shy and reserved little boy grew up in a family “with many teachers”: his mother but also two of his grandparents. “There was some rigor on both sides with important values like education, getting to the bottom of things and doing well.” As he was born near the Attert Valley Natural Park, he was very early introduced to outdoor sports and respect for nature and the environment. “My model was my retired grandfather, who loved growing his garden. He harvested a profusion of vegetables that he cultivated with rigor and love, dedicating his life entirely to his passion.”
At 11, Julien decided to study wood. His parents remember he had stars in his eyes when as a little boy, he went to meet the Vosges craftsmen who made hooves and small wooden toys. And at the beginning of high school, the teenager will check this option with enthusiasm. “I had a great time for a whole year learning techniques and gestures: how to use a wood saw, a file, a grater, make small works, and that is where it all began!” But he will have to stop to catch up in the fundamental subjects, and give himself one last chance for the general course.
The training that reveals the artist
“The following year, we could reorient ourselves and I went to the professional course over two years in “carpentry” or “woodworking”. Despite the skepticism around my family, my parents supported me.” It worked, even if the courses were not demanding enough for the young boy seeking for his vocation. He will do another year of restoration and creation of furniture in the continuity of the cabinet making and after all this, thanks to the precious advice of Denis Bruyère, cabinetmaker designer in Liège, he will finally find his place, entering the Institut Saint Luc de Tournai. “I remember the Open House Day with all these creations exposed there, and my key meeting with my future teacher, Patrice Degand, “The Captain,” who immediately saw my motivation and welcomed me with open arms in the Sculpture Formation.” Here, Julien Feller will focus mainly on wood, his favorite subject, for the time of learning which will last three years in order to master perfectly the gestures of the trade and acquire the intelligence of the hand. He would also learn to create and to meet challenges that are often very technical. “In a book of ornaments, I had spotted a model that will turn out to be a two-meter panel to be reproduced identically, after taking measurements directly in the Cathedral of Chartres!” Another challenge awaits him, in the second year, when he has the lightning stroke for a cabinet two bodies in ebony and pear, “with a magnificent decoration in high relief on the upper doors, of exceptional elegance”. He did it with great success, winning the Jury Prize. The artist-creator is born, with finesse and refinement as his signature!
A work of its own
Julien Feller is attracted to the masters of the Renaissance, but also to a Dutch man, Grinling Gibbons, considered as one of the most skillful wood sculptors in England. And especially, he liked his decorative panel “the Cosimo Panel” made for the Duke of Florence, and a lace tie for men carved on lime wood. “He left no trace of his know-how, but I was overwhelmed by this art of great delicacy, and it was there that I began to take an interest in lace.” The third-year student will find a Brussels lace exhibited in Versailles and decides to make it his project by diverting it, to carve it on a piece of wood. “I was looking for a model that was thick enough but not too thin at the same time and I had to figure out step by step how to get a finished result in trompe-l’oeil. This is where, in 2016, my first lace was born!”
In the meantime, he was looking for a job. He went to Texas for an internship at an antique furniture restorer and a French master’s furniture curator for the Dallas museum. He applied to stay there, but the paperwork was slow and would remain blocked. He then will contact another restorer Yannick Chastang, in Kent and set out for a 6-month collaboration on the re-creation of French furniture. “Thanks to this experience, I learned to sculpt completely independently and take the rhythm of the company. I was also able to think about my future and what I really wanted to do.” When he returned to Belgium in April 2017, he decided to turn the page on the United States and start his business. “I set up my workbench in my parents’ basement and started experimenting with lace exploring other woods and laying the groundwork for everything I wanted to do. Then I found this workshop in Martelange to really settle there.”
Move free
With meticulousness and infinite patience, Julien Feller then embarks on bold projects, pushing the technical and artistic limits each time, with a trompe-l’oeil lace, of incredible finesse. He is ambidexterous and will have to correct his vision very quickly, damaged by the hours, up to 3,000 spent on every minute detail of his pieces.
“I’m quite structured, and I rely on rigor in my work to realize my ideas. With a drawing at the beginning, or even a few strokes, to appreciate the shapes and sort in my choices. Then I give myself reasonable limits to create.” A triangle, for example, and the artist will build all around and inside the lace he imagines himself until he finds a visual balance that makes this decor harmonious. He has won many awards, including the Biennale des Métiers d’art “De mains de Maîtres” organized by their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke Heir and the Grand Duchess Heiress of Luxembourg, and is now recognized as a talented European Artist by the Michelangelo Foundation. His pieces are exhibited in museums and biennials all over the world. A well-deserved recognition for this sculptor-goldsmith-ornemanist on wood specialized in the creation of trompe-l’oeil lace. “Eddy the Monk”, from his nickname at the Institut Saint-Luc, has discovered his treasure in this unique mode of expression that allows him to convey his feelings, and provide emotions to others.
What a contrast this lace-maker on wood offers us with his almost unthinkable and unbelievable works, showing a great obstinacy for detail and meticulousness. Each one reveals an abundance of sensitivity, refinement, finesse, complexity, tact… that springs from an unprecedented combination of light lace and extremely hard wood. This is certainly an improbable mix but so much worked, with patience and requirement. Let’s follow this artist-creator who is moving forward inscribing his signature in the great book of the genius artisans.
Interview held by Carine Mouradian on the 18th March 2022
Link to Julien Feller’s website
Photo Gallery of Julien Feller
Related projects
