In December 2022 Pierre Marie Giraud was pleased to announce a new gallery exhibition by French ceramicist Valérie Hermans.

Valérie Hermans, driven by her temperament and her ever-growing fascination for the aesthetics of the Far East, has always embraced simplicity and delicacy in her work. Her distinctive way of ornamenting, one in which decor and shape never overlap, is inspired by ancient art forms. The art of the Scythians, for example, left her in awe. Aroused by several of these discoveries over the years, the depiction of animals became prevalent in Hermans? work. She perfected a technique of creating small animal figurines that allow her to reconnect with the principal purpose of ceramics: one of rituals and ceremonies. They serve as an ornament; not just for decoration, but as an object that is necessary to understand the work in its totality.