Blending ceramics, painting, glass and textiles, Henriette creates works that range from delicate pieces to large-scale installations
Traditional azulejo tiles have been part of Portugal’s culture for centuries. Gleaming on the façades of Portuguese towns and villages, as well as in kitchens, bathrooms, and even garden walls and fountains, these small, colourful squares have evolved with the times.
©Catherine Boutaud
Today, they serve as blank canvases for contemporary artists, such as Henriette Arcelin, a young French artist who fell in love with the majolica technique and packed her bags for Lisbon almost 14 years ago.
The daughter of an artist father – a Franco-Swiss painter – and a Provençal-born dancer and actress mother, she has creativity in her blood.
©Henriette Arcelin – Rosamar
“I’ve always been immersed in an artistic environment, surrounded by paintings and paint tubes, costumes created by my mother, art books, and, from a very young age, I experimented with every material available to me. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where I could develop my creativity and where artistic exploration was always encouraged,” recalls Henriette.
Born in Paris, she left her hometown at 18 to study Fine Arts at the Villa Arson in Nice and then at Chelsea College of Arts in London.
©STUDIO PIM Maré
“It was mainly in London that I developed an interest in ceramics. The school workshop was fantastic, and I was always eager to learn more about this material with its infinite possibilities. Furthermore, the United Kingdom has a long tradition of ceramic artisans. The Victoria and Albert Museum, in fact, houses one of the finest ceramics collections in Europe.”
Then, the young artist discovered Portugal. “In 2012, whilst still a student in London, I made two trips to Portugal, one to the North and one to the South. I came back absolutely thrilled by everything I had discovered, and particularly struck by the azulejo walls, these colourful tiles that cover entire cities and reflect the light, something I hadn’t seen anywhere else.”
This captivating discovery led her to Lisbon. Eager to deepen her knowledge of ceramics, she studied at the Ar.Co school, which offered a ceramics programme, whilst also working in various Lisbon ateliers.
©FILIPA PINTO DA SILVA
“I had experimented with tiles in London after my first trip to Lisbon, but it was during my studies at Ar.Co that I discovered and learned the majolica technique used in Portuguese azulejos. As I already practised painting, particularly watercolour, I was immediately captivated by this technique, in which the tiles serve as a blank canvas on which one paints with tintas de alto fogo (oxides) on raw glaze. This allows for high line sensitivity. I had never heard of this technique before. Moreover, it’s a bit difficult to find the right supplies in other European countries; it’s primarily a Portuguese and Spanish practice. The Italians also use majolica for decorating objects, but very little for wall decoration,” she explains.
Her work, both natural and playful, draws on botany, natural history, fauna, marine biology, and the folklore, textiles, and crafts of different cultures.
“I have always been very inspired by what I find around me, especially by nature. I collect many specimens and objects, photograph shapes and textures in nature, and build a kind of physical and mental library from which I draw to create my pieces, which are, in a way, a mosaic of these inspirations, arranged in a personal way. They then take on their own form through the choice of material and its specific characteristics,” the artist explains.
Shortly after arriving in Portugal in 2012, Henriette undertook interior design projects for several hotels and restaurants, which commissioned XXL works from her to bring their spaces to life.
©FILIPA PINTO DA SILVA
“In 2015, whilst working in a ceramics workshop producing handcrafted tableware for restaurants, I responded to a call for projects from an architecture and interior design studio [AnahoryAlmeida, now closed] that was looking for an illustrator to create a drawing of a quetzal – a vibrant bird from Central America – which would then be hand-painted on tiles by Viúva Lamego, Portugal’s most renowned azulejo factory. I was fortunate to have my design proposal accepted, and the panel for Quinta do Quetzal in the Alentejo region was installed in the winery’s restaurant.”
Following this project, one thing led to another, and Henriette has been recommended for various drawing and ceramics projects, including for chef José Avillez’s restaurants, as well as Marisqueira Azul and Sellva, both in Lisbon, the magnificent hotel São Lourenço do Barrocal, in the Alentejo, and, more recently, restaurant Rosamar and the Good Company bookstore, both in Lisbon.
©Catherine Boutaud
She even has some work on display at the Museu da Tapeçaria in Portalegre. “I continue to collaborate regularly with curator Felipa Almeida, architect Ana Anahory (Estúdio Lisboa), Studio Pim, the Viúva Lamego factory, the Niepoort and Cortes de Cima vineyards, and the Leya publishing house, among others,” she adds.
The young Parisian artist’s work has also made its way down south: “I held a solo exhibition at Martinhal resort in Sagres in 2023, featuring a ceramic installation, a tapestry of a large seaweed, a series of watercolours, and a glass installation,” she recalls.
Some of these works were once again in the spotlight during the resort’s 15th anniversary celebrations last year. “My second project [in the Algarve] is in a private home in Tavira,” she says, adding that she made a tapestry for the living room and that the project also includes a ceramic sink and a large ceramic bas-relief.
Still very much connected to her home country, Henriette collaborates regularly with Atelier 27 in Paris (interior design), the Coquille restaurant in Marseille, and the Domaine Minuty winery in Saint-Tropez. She has also completed several textile collaborations and hopes to continue designing fabrics and wallpapers.
“I would love, for example, to collaborate with Hermès or De Gournay,” she admits.
Indeed, her work extends beyond ceramics. “I love juggling different media. This dance between ceramics, painting, and sometimes glass or textiles gives me great pleasure, and I’m fortunate to be commissioned for many large-scale projects. I would also like to present my first solo exhibition soon,” she admits.
In the meantime, she invites us to the 2026 edition of Lisbon by Design (May 26-31), where she will, for the occasion, create a fantastic universe, blending ceramics, tapestry and marquetry with the artists Fantasque (Lucie Schweitzer) and Mathilde Gallien.
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