IRINA RASQUINET Russia, b. 1974

Irina Rasquinet creates monumental sculptures as well as fantastical and colourful jewellery. Her work is imprinted with a childlike gaze and spontaneity. The artist perceives French expressions with poetry and surrealism, diverting them into imaginative puns. With works entitled Roule-moi une pelle (2007), Terre à Terre (2008), Langue de bois (2008) or Nature (sus)pendue (2008), Irina Rasquinet takes a playful look at these expressions. She makes them resonate with various themes such as love, identity or nature.

Born in conflict-ridden Chechnya in 1974, the artist attended an experimental art school in Moscow, Russia. She moved to Paris in 1997 to join the School of Decorative Arts in Paris.

Solo exhibitions include Mère Veilleuse at Domaine des Étangs, Massignac, France, 2016 ; Sans Filet at WWF in Zurich, Switzerland in 2011 ; and Diamond Market at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, 2006.  Group exhibitions include Portrait of a Lady at Fondation Boghossian in Brussels, 2022; Ar(t)bres, La Nature Malmenée at Château de la Bourdaisière, Tours, France, 2009 ; and This is Me et Black Block, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France in 2008. 

The artist’s work is held in major collections including Collection Dragonfly at Domaine des Etangs, Massignac, France, the Charles Firmenich Collection, the David Holder Collection, and others.