Olivia Géraud

BIEN Artist in Residence

Layer House, Kranj
This spring, we will host Olivia Géraud, the international winner of the ETA Award, presented at the BIEN Textile Art Biennial 2025. Olivia is a French textile and visual artist working between Paris and Le Havre on the Normandy coast.

Trained at the renowned French tapestry workshop Manufacture des Gobelins, she primarily identifies as a high-warp tapestry weaver. Her artistic practice is enriched by a range of media, including embroidery, etching, and drawing. Her work is characterized by a fascination with technical challenges and a subtle sense of humour, reflecting her desire to push the boundaries of traditional forms, highlight overlooked subjects, and bring together diverse sources of inspiration. Recently, she has focused on combining techniques and incorporating found objects into hybrid, narrative works.

 

During the residency, the artist created an artwork (photographs 3, 4, and 5):

Rivers telling yarns
High-warp tapestry, 2026
about 90cmx50cm
Cotton, wool, paper thread and various gleaned material

[yarn] noun
/jɑːn/
1. Thread used for making cloth or for knitting
2. A story, usually a long one with a lot of excitement or interest

On a sunny morning, I crossed a first river (Sava) to get to the Layer House. A few hours later, I went down a second river (Kokra); this one became a friendly entity, whom I visited almost everyday and welcomed a collective land art installation. On a map, waterways seem to embrace Kranj's old town in a Y shape, with Layer House at its heart. As days went by, I discovered many threads connected to the rivers : the strategic importance of the city overhanging position since prehistoric times, the essential role of Sava river in Jesenice's ironworking industry history, Majdič's past glory and island (Sava's smaller arm), families sharing a nice time throwing pebbles into water, lovers taking a selfie under the bridge, people telling me where they like to swim, all the birds leaving by the water...It quickly became obvious that rivers would be at the center of my work here, as a subject as much as a raw material provider.
In this new tapestry, I explored new techniques and textures through interwoven fibers (Slovenian and French) and elements collected in Kokra Canyon. I want people to wander in this piece, scrutinise it, imagine or remind their own stories, just as I did when I discovered Kranj.
And by the way, 1st June is Sava River International Day!

Saturday, 24. 5. 2026, meeting point: outside Layer House

11:00 – Collecting found objects and natural materials from Kokra Canyon with Olivia Géraud.

Event registration: bien@layer.si

Monday, 4. 5. 2026, Layer house, Kranj

17:00 – Talk: Let’s talk about art residencies with the artists: Olivia Géraud (FR), Kristi Komel (SI), Dominika Gacko and Julia Piekarska (PL)

19:00 – Exhibition Opening: New Tissue – the Rhythm of Interweaving exhibition of contemporary weaving, texitle artists: Olivia Géraud (FR), Kristi Komel (SI), Dominika Gacka (PL) and Julia Piekarska (PL)

 

The residency is supported by the Culture Moves Europe.

The exhibition is part of the BIEN 2026 programme, supported by the Ministry of Culture of Slovenia.

Produced by: Carnica
Producer: Zala Orel
Community manager: Vita Ivičić
Curator: Lovro Ivančić
Production assistant: Marjeta Duhani
Technician: Rok Pavlin
Hospitality: Brina Leber

Photo: Maša Pirc

Last two photographs in the gallery: Céline Zed, artist’s archive