After studying at the School of Fine Arts in Aix-en-Provence and at the Department of Visual Arts at Paris VIII, Paula Gellis trained in various Parisian studios (painting, printmaking, modeling).
From 1976 to 1986, she traveled extensively in Latin America, where she studied pre-Columbian art.
In 1990, she began practicing direct carving in the studio of sculptor Coutelle.
She now works in her own studio in Montreuil-sous-Bois, exploring a variety of materials and formats (stone, wood, clay, plaster, bronze, painting…).
In 2001, she was invited by the DRAC (Corsica) for a three-month artist residency, where she worked with local Cap Corse stone (gabbro, serpentine).
For over a decade, Paula Gellis has regularly taken part in international events, competitions, and symposiums:
Lithuania, 1998 (2-meter granite piece)
Switzerland, 1999–2001–2005 (limestone)
Paris, 2002 (ice sculpture)
Drôme, 2005 (wood)
Valloire, 2006 (international competition – ice and snow)
July 2006: as part of a cultural exchange between the twin cities of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) and ChanChung (Jilin province, China), she created a 3.5-meter bronze sculpture
November 2006: ART EN CAPITAL, Grand Palais (Paris) – Salon des Artistes Français. Stone portrait gallery
Artistic Approach
...To search and discover what stone and wood still have to reveal to us...
...To remove matter, refine a line, and bring it to life...
The message of stone reaches Paula Gellis, sinks into her, connects to other memories. The encounter becomes a confrontation, a battle, and then the exchange turns into calm, into fusion, into a point of balance...
...Here and there, scarred faces testify: we are the voice of the stone. Our features, once carved with steel chisels, come back to life...
...Paula Gellis has inscribed her mark and sensibility into local materials (serpentine, gabbro...), anchoring her project in the heart of the site's symbols and traditions...
— Yves Stella, excerpt from the catalogue "Memory of Stone", Summer Residency in Morsiglia, Corsica, June/July 2001
