Sugar sculpture by Jean-Paul Lespagnard
Photo: Riekje Jouvenaz-Broekman

BLOWING AND SCULPTING SUGAR

Blown sugar is sugar which is specially worked and then molded into various shapes with the assistance of a small tube. The technique for making it is closely related to glass blowing, and in the hands of a skilled artisan, it can take a wide range of shapes, from tiny bubbles to ornate carriages. Blown sugar is often evident in sugar sculptures like those used on fancy cakes; sugar sculpture usually incorporates a number of different techniques for handling sugar to create a desired effect.

Making blown sugar starts with making pulled sugar. Pulled sugar is sugar which has been heated, folded, and pulled to make it glossy and flexible. Pulled sugar can be used on its own to create shapes like ribbons, flower petals, and so forth, but to make rounded shapes like the bodies of animals, it is necessary to blow the sugar. A confectioner takes a small ball of pulled sugar, attaches it to a tube, and forces air through the tube to inflate the sugar while working it under a lamp to keep it flexible. When the sugar has formed a satisfactory shape, it is cooled with fans to encourage the shape to set.
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Posted 17 February 2014

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“TILL WE DROP” EXHIBITION
A Jean-Paul Lespagnard exhibition, from 29th January until 5th April 2014.

The Galeries Gallery welcomes the talented fashion designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard. Former winner of the International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères and future associate artist on the European Capital of Culture project in the city of Mons in 2015, he has created the TILL WE DROP exhibition in his own image: off-the-wall and committed.

For his first solo exhibition in Paris, Jean-Paul invites visitors to explore his creative process. Inspired by his eponymous 2014 collection, shown in Paris in September 2013, the exhibition evokes the vivacious life of Mexico’s luxury hotels on the Mayan Riviera and resonates with his interpretation of an artificial paradise. A euphoric world, built on transgressions and freedom. Jean-Paul Lespagnard, dressed as a bee, leads us on a journey punctuated by installations depicting the rituals and customs of impulse tourism, free from all material contingencies.
For the duration of the prolific Jean-Paul Lespaganard’s stay at Galeries Lafayette, the TILL WE DROP project will enjoy ample exposure along the entire window displays of rue de la Chaussée d’Antin as well as on the first floor of the store.
For each exhibition, the Galeries Gallery offers free guided tours for adults and children, in French or English, at your convenience.

The Galeries Gallery is located on the first floor, at the very heart of the Designer Fashion Department. Here, the store’s cosmopolitan visitors are treated to a showcase of new and up and coming talent.
With four exhibitions a year, each showcasing both French and international design, the exhibition programme aims to highlight the cross-over between fashion, fine art and design, disciplines which have always inspired Galeries Lafayette.
www.galeriedesgaleries.com