CREATIVE Powers

In this edition, our columnist, DEREK C. BLASBERG, visits the PARIS STUDIO of the inimitable artist SETSUKO KLOSSOWSKA DE ROLA, who was married to one of the most celebrated painters of the 20TH CENTURY and has always approached LIVING her LIFE as if she were CRAFTING a MASTERPIECE

For years, I was too intimidated to talk to Setsuko Klossowska de Rola. Always dressed impeccably in a colorful kimono, with her hair pulled back and red lipstick, she’s easy to spot in a crowd. There she is sitting beside Timothée Chalamet at their mutual friend Haider Ackermann’s fashion shows and cozying up with the likes of Tilda Swinton and Peter Marino at art openings. The 82-year-old Japanese painter and ceramicist, who splits her time between a spectacular Swiss chalet she shared with her late husband, the legendary French artist Balthus, and a studio in Paris, has always exuded a kind of traditionalism and perfection. The overall effect has rendered me speechless. I know, I know. Me? Shy? But, yes, it happens occasionally, especially when I’m in the presence of someone…

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Harper's Bazaar (Digital) - 1 Issue, December/January 2025

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