Béatrice Serre’s Otherworldly Mosaics Utilize Raw Stones, Minerals, and Even Fossils

The ethereal mirrors, tables, lamps, and bas-reliefs that result from this painstaking method have earned Serre a legion of admirers. Among them are Julie Hillman, Thierry Lemaire, and interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot, who commissioned her to create several bespoke works, starting a decade ago with a wall sculpture—a stunning explosion of slate and minerals—that caught the eye of Renaud Vuaillat, owner of Twenty First Gallery in Manhattan. “I was blown away by the strength and beauty of the piece,” says Vuaillat, who will show Serre’s work at Salon Art + Design in November and Design Miami/ in December. “It was like she invented a new language.”

Vuaillat immediately added her to his roster and now regularly shows her spectacular creations at his booths on the design fair circuit. At Salon Art + Design last November, visitors to the gallery’s display could find a low table topped with a swirling galaxy of geodes, lava stone, granite, and metallic accents. “Collectors of Serre’s works are attracted to them like magnets,” he adds. “They purchase them without a second thought. I believe they are attracted to the power of the stones.”

Serre can relate—the artist herself was drawn to the energy of these earthly materials starting at a young age. Born in Paris, she spent her childhood constantly on the move, relocating from Gabon to China to Brazil with her family, finding that collecting stones and minerals provided her with a reassuring constant. Ultimately settling in the French capital, Serre crafted her first compositions while studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués. “The mosaic is a symbol of reconstruction, rebirth, and re-creating,” she says. “It is beyond an art; it’s like therapy, with ever more elaborate techniques uniting the old to new technologies.”

Following the recent launch of a capsule collection of jewel-encrusted Cosmic bags with Aquazzura, Serre is working on custom installations for retail clients such as Cartier, for whom she’s already created an Art Deco–inspired wall work composed of marble, onyx, travertine, and gold enamel tesserae. She is also gearing up for a highly anticipated solo show this fall at Galerie Yves Gastou in Paris that will explore her ongoing fascination with opals and turquoise. “They transport me to miniature constellations and large spaces of serenity,” she says. “Certain pebbles that have been scarified and damaged by time also particularly affect me, because they carry within them the authenticity of their journey, like wrinkles and wounds for humans. They are more powerful because they have stood the test of time.”

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