It's January and that means shades of gray and white are the order of the day here in Delaware. Ever since coming across
Coleccion Serpentina, I knew the dead of winter would be the perfect time to feature the warmly colored paper sculpture art of Jesús Rentería Franco.
Bright, glossy and oh so appealing, each piece is made with a practical use in mind, many as home decor objects. Curious to learn more about his work, I wrote to Jesús; he was pleased to tell us about the business he and his wife Yolanda have built and continue to expand.
"I am from southern Mexico, specifically
from Acapulco, a proud Afro-descendant and admirer of our cultural
diversity. I studied industrial design, graduated from university in 2000 and together with Yolanda started the search for a
Mexican design that is true to our heritage. We wanted to include all of our cultural
features that people identify with Mexican contemporary design.
During the search that took some
years, we developed different products and one day discovered quilling paper because our intention was to design jewelry. Our first design baptized our future, a necklace made with small
rolls of bright colors. The quilling strips looked to us like a pack of serpentinas. In Mexico, if you do not know, traditionally when we
have a party we decorate with serpentinas that are coils of colorful paper strips.
One of our early paper jewelry models.
The rolls are very similar to serpentinas.
We participated in two contests and won both. As a
prize in one we were given a stand in a gift expo that led me to develop bigger objects to fill the space. That's
where there was an evolution in our work because
the challenge was to make functional objects in addition to
beautiful ones. We did many tests with different varnishes and resins until we achieved a fine result.
Ten years ago we were often featured in design
magazines and newspapers because we were part of the design boom in
Mexico. Our products became iconic because they represented the
movement and hunger for change, especially in Mexico City.
We
participated in many exhibitions and national events such as Design Week
Mexico and the first exhibition of industrial design in Mexico, as well as conferences and workshops to talk about
the creative process, aesthetic proposal and community work
that we developed.
The most important thing for us is that our work reached other countries
through participation in the Orangerie Museum in France, the Mexican
Cultural Institute in Washington and the presidential tour of Mexico in various countries. It has
been sold in museums shops, such as AGO in Toronto, Canada, Orangerie in Paris and MoMA Design Store in New York.
From 2006 until now I have dedicated myself
to developing products that are production challenges... to demonstrate that
paper is a resistant and noble material with which incredible objects
can be made.