Maud Vantours Turns Paper Into Magic

Color, pattern, and paper are the foundations of Maud Vantours’ artistic creation. Born in 1985 in France, Vantours specialized in textile design and materials research at ESAA Duperré. But over the years, the designer and artist had increasingly become drawn to paper as the main material she works with.

“What I like about paper is its flexibility,” she noted in an interview with Jung Katz. “I’ve worked with paper for a long time and there is always a new way to use it. It’s a material which offers many textures, aspects, and colors, and I like to mix all these possibilities.”

The paper (colorful or plain, heavy or light) allows her to fold it, open it, accumulate it, and superimposes it layer upon layer, creating patterns and volume. Sculpted by Vantours, the flat piece of paper is transformed into a precious object. It’s this versatility that also allows her to oscillate between art and design, appealing to major luxury brands with which she collaborates, but also to more local brands.

“I have four steps in my work process,” relayed Vantours. “The first one is to find the concept, an idea. Second, to create the graphic design. Third, choose the color matchings. Then the last step is the production in paper and volume.” She adds that every project is different, and as such can take anything from three days to three months to complete.

“The inspiration can come from anything,” she notes, “an exhibition, a book, an advert. I try to vary my trend inspirations because I want to propose something new for every project, to try something I’ve never done. I do lots of research, samples and try more complicated shapes, new graphic designs, colors or materials to find new orientations.”

Take a look at some of her eye-popping paper creations in the gallery below.