Atéhel in Bellagio: The Sculptor of Archaic Dreams

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“In the silent breath of stone,
Atéhel carves the echoes of forgotten worlds —
dreams that once belonged to gods, now reborn in matter.”
Elisa Larese Moro

In the sculptures of Nathalie Derville, known artistically as Atéhel, lies the enchantment of childhood—that suspended moment when reality merges with the invisible and the tangible is crossed by myth. Her bronze figures are not merely modeled forms, but beings conjured from a distant, timeless past, inhabited by legends, forgotten civilizations, and universal narratives.

Born in 1964 in Vannes, Brittany, Derville developed her artistic sensibility between two poles: the silence and deep-rooted landscapes of her native Limousin, and the vibrant creative energy of Paris, where raw matter transforms into artistic language. Her studies at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Limoges—specializing in the Arts of Fire—were just the beginning of a journey that would soon break free from academic confines. Drawn to a more instinctive, tactile approach to art-making, she left school to work in a porcelain factory, where she learned to use kilns and create molds—an experience that shaped her almost ritualistic connection to fire, earth, and transformation.

It was not until the early 2000s that her vision crystallized: the “Mythes et Civilisations” collection was born, marking a turning point in which Atéhel fully embraced her role as a storyteller. Her chosen artistic name—drawn from a fairy imagined in childhood—reflects this impulse. Atéhel is a voice that narrates stories not through words, but through bronze, plaster, and clay. Each work is a tale taking shape, a dream cast into form.

Her process follows a dual path: on one hand, the intuitive gesture of shaping clay; on the other, the mastery of technique and artisanal knowledge that leads to casting. Even in the precision of the technical act, the artist seeks magic: the polishing of the plaster is not merely refinement, but an erasure of the hand’s intervention—so that only essence and mystery remain.

Her figures—The Sage, Cuzco, Knossos, Gabriel, The Venetian, The Empress—are never serial, never follow a repetitive pattern. Each piece is a unique creation, inspired by a specific myth or civilization. They are liminal beings, suspended between human and animal, dream and matter. These hybrid, archetypal forms seem to emerge from a deep collective memory, one that binds earth, water, and story.

Atéhel works like a shaman: she gathers symbols, listens to the breath of ancient myths, gives shape to visions. Her sculptures do not merely occupy space—they transform it. They summon an elsewhere. And within the silence of bronze, one hears the ancient voice of storytelling.

In a world dominated by speed and overproduction, Atéhel’s art invites us to slow down, to listen, to imagine. To remember that matter—like myth—is alive, and still speaks to us. We only need to know how to listen.

Nathalie Derville known artistically as Atéhel, is a French sculptor born in 1964 in Vannes, in the Morbihan region of Brittany. She lives and works between Paris and the Limousin, her native land. Her artistic training began at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Limoges, where she specialized in the Arts du Feu (Arts of Fire). However, drawn to a more direct and physical relationship with materials, she left the academic path to work in a porcelain factory, where she began to independently experiment with kilns, molds, and clay modeling.

In the 1990s, after becoming a mother, she turned to teaching and explored other creative avenues such as animation, theatre, and storytelling for children. This period deepened her connection to imagination, dream, and the symbolic dimension of narrative.

In the early 2000s, she retrieved her old molds and opened a small studio in Paris, where she began working consistently on her sculptural production. A pivotal moment in her journey came with her encounter with sculptor Marie-Jo Bourron: together, they visited artistic foundries, studied anatomy, and refined their welding and casting techniques. From this experience, her first major collection, “Mythes et Civilisations”, was born.

Under the name Atéhel—drawn from a fairy imagined in childhood—Nathalie Derville has created a poetic and archaic universe populated by mythological figures, memories of water, and creatures suspended between human and animal. Her sculptures, cast in bronze from clay and plaster models, evoke ancient civilizations and timeless tales, blending fantastical archaeology with reimagined mythology.

Her artistic research draws from universal sources, yet remains deeply personal: each work is a unique encounter, guided by intuition rather than repetition. Today, her works are part of the ongoing “Mythes et Civilisations” collection and are cast at Fusion, an art foundry in Clermont-Ferrand.

Through her sculptural gesture, Atéhel carries forward a silent form of storytelling—woven from memory, material, and imagination.

www.atehel.com

www.instagram.com/atehel

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