Presse-papier 'Papillon de nuit' 1928

This 'Papillon de nuit' paperweight was created by Gabriel Argy-Rousseau. It's a blocky cube of luminous green glass with two moths emerging out of it, one on the top edge and the other clinging to the side, an intimate scene. I'm always fascinated by the 'how' of making, and I find myself wondering how Argy-Rousseau worked with the material to get the moth details so accurate. It must have been a slow process of carving and layering, letting the form emerge from the material, like a memory coming into focus. There is something magical in the tension between the solid, geometric shape and the delicate, organic forms of the moths. It reminds me that art, like life, is full of these kinds of contradictions. I see a dialogue here with the work of other glass artists. They’re all experimenting, learning from each other, pushing the boundaries of what's possible.