Why Ozanne Princen is in the Design 100

Princen sculpts fragments of the human leg — the calf, the knee, the thigh — cast in bronze by the lost-wax method rather than modelled as whole figures. The choice traces back to two decades at a ballet barre, begun at the age of three, which gave her a precise working knowledge of what a single limb can communicate about balance, tension and release without the rest of the body attached. That training, paired with a later academic grounding in history and cultural studies, shows up in work that reads as considered rather than merely decorative.

Across three collections — Silhouettes Éternelles, Counterpoise and Épure — the scale and ambition have grown, from tabletop bronzes finished in polished or matte black patina to a wall-mounted piece that treats sculpture as an architectural intervention rather than a freestanding object. Each edition is cast to order over an eight to twelve week lead time, signed and numbered, the kind of unhurried production that suits a practice built on patience rather than volume.