THE MORNING LIST

A look at five exhibitions in Paris that pay homage to the planet, the passage of time and irreverence as an art of living and inhabiting.

These are the kinds of tables, stools and lamps that you never tire of looking at. They are carved from solid wood, not smooth and flawless as you usually see, but studded with knots, veins and cracks. What Danish artist and master cabinetmaker Laura Bergsoe highlights is the "soul" of very old trees. She beautifies the imperfections of the maple, eben and oak trees she selects from around the world, delicately inlaying castings of silver, gold or bronze, precious stones or diamonds.

Butterfly-shaped joints, amber drops or mammoth ivory transform these functional objects into enchanted, jewel-sewn sculptures. "Everything that makes a piece of wood unique, and which would normally be cut, is the heart of the tree, which tells its story," insisted Bergsoe, who, from her workshop north of Copenhagen where she produces her works, invites us to change the way we see the planet and its resources.

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