Portrait of Catherine Feff, a specialist in painting involved in the creation of the Apostrophe Hotel, Chevreuse street.
Catherine Feff has made “trompe l’oeil” walls painted on the Arc de Triomphe, the Church of the Madeleine, Place de la Concorde or around the world!
Hoosta- Can you tell us about your job? Your career?
Catherine Feff: It has been 20 years now that I’m a painter and an artist, I set up my company “Creation Grand Format” format in 1986. My company creates painted walls, tarpaulins “cache work” and interior decorations and paintings on easels. In 1986 I launched the 1st “cache work”, the idea was repeated many times since then … I also decorated interiors with figurative painting with shadows which are suggestions and winks to let you imagine what you cannot see but is suggested by a shadow …
Hoosta - Tell us how you started with the Apostrophe Hotel?
Catherine Feff: Totally by accident! Friends keep the restaurant opposite the hotel, the Cameleon and told me to move because a hotel was under renovation … I met Mr and Mrs Gatien, the owners and their daughter Isabelle, and we became friends. Then I met Sandrine Alouf, atmospherist artist and we feel the same feelings as I am very interested in the concept of traces and shadows.

Hoosta - What are your achievements in the hotel?
Catherine Feff: First, the facade. I imagined shadows of trees and foliage as if in front of the hotel, there were trees! Then I’m to decorate the elevator and stairs. The elevator shaft is transparent glass, it had to find an idea, a thread because we see the stairs when we boarded floors. These achievements are in shades of gray. Finally in the rooms I have done murals for the walls in front of beds.
Hoosta- Can you tell us more about the decoration of rooms?
Catherine Feff: In the room graffiti, I realized a framework that is hung in front of the bed and takes graffiti wall as a mirror effect … Customers will be intrigued: is it a mirror or a trompe l’oeil !
Hoosta- Why did you choose this profession?
Catherine Feff: As a child I wanted to do painting, I have started young. After my graduation, I have studied at the School of Decorative Arts, which I succeeded. I followed the course and at the same time I was already doing illustrations for magazines. It is through this that I was engaged in Bayard Presse for the magazine Okapi. I was styling and looking for photo illustrations. But after 6 years, I wanted to change and find a job where my two passions - sport and design - are linked. The large-format painting provides an incredible emotion compared to a small format drawing on paper!
Hoosta - How did you arrive at “cover work”?
Catherine Feff: I am from a family of builders and whan I was a child, I was often on construction sites (which were very dirty indeed). I asked myself how we could make it more attractive and pleasant these renovations. This is where I had the idea … in 1986!
Hoosta - Have you ever worked for hotels?
Catherine Feff: Yes, I realized the health center of the Ritz which is in the basement, with pool, sauna …). Asthere is only artificial light, I made trompe l’oeil giving the impression of not being locked up, with blue sky for example. Otherwise, I worked with many other hotels but The Apostrophe is the last hotel with whom I worked.
Hoosta- What are your plans?
Catherine Feff: I realize at the moment with my team painted walls in the cities of the Paris region (Montereau, Poissy …). And I get new projects in Paris, but I can not even tell you!