Andrew Gn Won a Bidding Frenzy to Acquire This Masterful Ceramic Work

Georges Jouve’s La Poule Blanche (1949) displayed among other ceramics in the home of fashion designer Andrew Gn. Photo: Andrew Gn

“When I arrived in Paris in the early ’90s, I started going to antiques markets. At one in the 15th arrondissement, I found this book that was published in 1965 and written by Michel Faré, then curator of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, about the work of ceramist Georges Jouve. When I opened it, there was a photo of a beautiful white dove in Jouve’s atelier. The piece felt mythical, and I instantly fell in love with it.

The work of Jouve is iconic because it’s very simple, but that’s what makes it perfection. He’s not just a ceramist; he’s more of a sculptor or an artist. Over the years, I have acquired quite a lot of his pieces, but in 2021 I saw that the bird from the book was coming to auction in the estate of Marion Lambert, whose home had been decorated by Jacques Grange. I thought, Oh, my God, it is going to cost an arm and a leg, but I must have it. I did not sleep for two nights before the auction. There was quite a lot of fighting for that piece among bidders around the world, but I finally got it. So I now have that very happy bird in my home, displayed in a group of white ceramics on a Brutalist console in my living room. When I walk past it, I caress it and give a little sigh. Every day I count my blessings to be the temporary owner of this beautiful piece, my beautiful bird.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2023 Fall Issue under the headline “In Focus.” Subscribe to the magazine.