Marie-Rose Lortet (1945) was born in Strasbourg, France, although she has lived and worked in Haute-Normandie since 1967. Introduced to sewing and knitting by her grandmothers, she quickly set aside the practical uses of these pursuits to exploit their visual and expressive potential. From the 1960s onwards, Lortet created works using pieces of sewn and embroidered textiles, which she gradually replaced with scraps of knitting. She did away with traditional stitches and constantly developed her technique through technical ingenuity and formal freedom, working without preparatory drawings. 
Lortet is especially interested in masks, whose titles often subtly suggest how her work is to be understood. Her ‘Wool Masks’ play with and rebuild the motif of the face, creating multiple variations and an astonishing array of portraits. These creations are followed by larger pieces in a similar style, which she calls ‘Lands of Wool’, which include her ‘Thread Houses’ made of white or coloured cotton threads stiffened with sugar. Regularly exhibited, she continues to experiment with her selftaught techniques, essentially involving knitting and embroidery.