Delphine Nény – Decorative painter

Pays de la Loire –  1967

Delphine Nény is a decorative painter. Born in a family composed of artists, she grew up in a creative environment surrounded by drawings, paintings and decoration. Passioned about art, she began her university studies at Académie Roederer. Then, she continued at Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Cergy Pontoise, and, well aware of the thin border between art and craft, she finally chose to continue her training in the decorative painting workshop.

After her studies, she worked at Atelier de Restauration et Conservation d’Objets d’Art (ARCOA) and continued in the company Trouvé with Pierre Lefumat. He passed on his passion, his expertise, and his techniques. Moreover, Delphine Nény followed him to exceptional sites such as the Costes Hotel, Le Meurice, or the Château de Sceaux.

In 2012, Delphine Nény created her workshop. The first part of her activity is dedicated to the creation of wall decorations, ornamental panels, trompe l’oeil, as well as imitations on all types of supports. She also creates wallpapers by hand and stencil. 80% of her activity is dedicated to decorators, such as Jacques Garcia or Alex Papachristidis. She also works on restitution or restoration projects, both in France and abroad.

Each creation she realised has been ordered by private individuals or interior designers and respond to a set of specifications. This element has been stimulating her creativity since the beginning of a career. Moreover, she has been seeking to push the limits of her profession and of herself. That is why, every year, she is going on an internship to learn new techniques such as sandblasting. In fact, it is after an internship in London with the letter painter David Smith that she decided in 2016 to dedicate the second part of her activity to reverse painting on glass and eglomized glass.

1994 – Meilleur Ouvrier de France, in the category of decorative painting.

Research and innovation

Delphine Nény creates decorative paintings with the reverse painting technique and the eglomerate technique. She creates unique pieces on modern or antique custom-made glass, with classical or contemporary representations. Reverse painting on eglomised glass requires audacity since no repentance is possible and the colors are different when they are placed on the back of a glass plate. “To paint upside down is to imagine the final result and to prepare in advance the color palette”. According to eglomised glass, she paints multiple layers with gold leaf, palladium, associated with metallic powders, and she also uses mother of pearl or mica.

Will to transmit

Delphine Nény was a teacher at Ecole d’Art Mural of Versailles from 2012 to 2013, and a teacher in decorative painting techniques in Rouen until 2019. Each year, she welcomes interns in her studio. She sometimes goes on work sites with them.

Fondation Rémy Cointreau has supported Delphine Nény in the development of her workshop. Thanks to this support, the craftswoman was able to acquire a solid table adapted to the realization of her large creations. Moreover, she acquired a high quality printer in order to produce her presentation books for clients.