Rencontre at the Musée Bourdelle - Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art 2025

As part of the Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art 2025, the Musée Bourdelle hosted a Rencontre with Canadian sculptor Mélanie Furtado. This event featured a selection of works from Furtado’s Women: States of Being series, displayed in dialogue with Bourdelle’s monumental sculptures, creating a meaningful exchange between contemporary and classical sculpture.

During the Rencontre, Furtado presented a live sculpting demonstration, offering insight into her creative process. She discussed the stages of her work, from preparatory sketches and clay modeling to plaster casting and enlargements. The demonstration provided an opportunity to understand the intricate process behind her sculptures, reflecting her approach to traditional sculptural techniques with a contemporary reimagining.

Furtado's practice centers on the embodied experience of sculpting from life, where the tactile medium of clay becomes a tool for capturing moments, gestures, and emotional states. Her work stands as a counterpoint to the speed of contemporary life, offering an alternative form of presence through materiality.

The presentation of Women: States of Being in the context of Bourdelle’s monumental sculptures created a dialogue across time, honoring tradition while offering a contemporary perspective on identity, emotion, and the human body.