Château Haut Brisson – Marusya Borisova-Sevastyanova

Born in a family of art historians and graduated cum laude from the National institute of fashion (Moscow, Russia), Marusya started her career in the beginning of the 2000s in the
Russian editions of internationally renowned glossy magazines, namely Esquire and Vogue.

She pursued further education as an art resident at School of Visual Arts (New York, USA), establishing her individual style of painting and art installations.
Her first personal exhibition took place when she was 19.

Ever since, she has been participating in numerous expositions all over the world. Camden Image Gallery in London, Spazio Temporary in Venice, La Chapelle Saint Antoine of the Naxos Island, Art4 Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow are among those who hosted her works. She gives a special place to the study of various aspects of the relationship between timelessness and modernity, whether it’s the comprehension of the temporality of human existence, the image of a woman, or the revision of humanistic values in an era of global
crisis.

This artistic residency in the Chateau Haut-Brisson cumulated two passions of Marusya: painting and hospitality. During her stay she accomplished a whole series of works
dedicated to fundamental emotions that she brought straight afterwards to a private show and hugely enjoyed the role of a maîtresse d’hôtel welcoming the guests of the estate.

Passionate, and even obsessed with finding the right nuances of colour, she much appreciated waking up with the cool juicy orange rays of rising sun and observing the mild mist fading away from the vineyards, while smelling the aromas of multicolour roses blooming underneath her windows.

This beautiful and peaceful environment set the rhythm of her daily routine. From preparing an elaborate composition of breakfast for the guests – wearing the outfit inspired by the
mood of the day – on a giant contemporary kitchen she switched over to her total white work look in front of the easel until posing her brushes at 9 p.m. This “luxury creative camp”
with meticulously refurbished rooms and idyllic scenery turned to be a perfect place for her to “tame a wild beast of a painting” and even better master her “being in the flow”.

Marusya created two paintings for the Chateau Haut-Brisson in her signature figurative dreamlike technique. She pictured the spirit of the vineyard that received her, a female impersonation of the age-old terroir miraculously able to stay forever young. She captured the elegant simplicity and purity of this space that nurtures only the best. Cold colors and
prevailing blues of the skies are paired with the outlines of local landmarks.

She proceeded nearly intuitively, in a kind of visceral painting style, claiming to obtain the best result this way.

“I never make up anything, my hand goes by itself. Thanks to these paintings – that literally burst out of me – I have realized that I was truly relaxed and in a good shape despite the amount of work I had to do for the coming exhibition. I was so concentrated on my task that didn’t even have the time to notice that. I was surprised to discover it with these two complementary paintings I left as a gift”.

Marusya took a great pleasure in exchanging conversations with the guests and even made some remarkable encounters which meant a lot for her life’s philosophy.
She was able to explore the neighbourhood on an e-bike and was totally amazed by the architecture of a church in St. Emilion – half-romain, half-gothic:

“An inadvertency lost in time which is priceless today. You can literally see the shift of the epochs right in front of your eyes. I couldn’t get myself out of there, I was stunned and fascinated.”

Whilst the second half of September she could witness an accurately organized process of harvesting, including the special activities for production of kosher-certified wine.
A fan of wine – outside her working hours – she appreciated greatly the grape variety of Chateau Haut-Brisson. She would imagine its ideal accompaniment as a simple best-quality
piece of meat or – surprisingly – a lemon tart, which would perfectly accentuate its balanced tones.

Marusya keeps wonderful memories of her stay at Chateau Haut-Brisson, describing it as a place where wishes come true, and miracles happen. And even imaginary characters of her
paintings could pay her a sudden visit. The magic of this experience gave her, above all, a notion of her future ideal occupation combing creative process and convivial hospitality.