Interview Jouissance Parfums Founder Cherry Cheng
Cheng studied Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute and Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths, and worked at Gurr Johns, and for independent art advisor and curator Daniel Malarkey. Jouissance was born during the pandemic, when Cheng found solace in literature, like radical French feminist Hélène Cixous, whose 1975 essay, Le Rire de la Méduse, is the source for Jouissance’s name. Cheng went on to study at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, and in February 2024, she became the first private student of renowned French perfumer, Antoine Lie. 2025 is a pivotal year for the brand as Cheng prepared to unveil her debut fragrance creation.
Beyond her work with Jouissance, Cheng is also an avid art collector and patron. She is a member of the Serpentine Council, Studio Voltaire’s Council, the ICA Development Committee, and a Young Philanthropist at the Royal Opera House. We caught up with the trailblazer to find out more about her journey, ambitions and why she sees scent as an artistic medium.
THE WICK: As an entrepreneur in art and brand – how does a Monday usually start for you?
Cherry Cheng:
I typically start my day with a cup of black coffee and work for an hour in my guest bedroom that I’ve turned into a perfumery studio. Since I started my training with renowned perfumer Antoine Lie, I have been given numerous assignments such as analyzing and deconstructing simple accords, as well as reconstructing classic floral accords and iconic fragrances. I also restudy and test myself on the ingredients that are currently within my library – a daily practice that Antoine and many master perfumers have encouraged. Every weekday from 10:00 to 12:00, I attend classical ballet classes—a routine I began two years ago. Ever since starting Jouissance, ballet has become a grounding practice that keeps me balanced while navigating the challenges of launching and growing my first business.
Afternoons are usually dedicated to answering emails, Instagram DMs, and Slack messages, meetings with prospective collaborators for Jouissance or visiting galleries. If I don’t have any openings or dinners to attend in the evening, I love watching bootlegged esoteric art house films on my laptop or reading in bed. I read a lot of memoirs or biographies of female authors and artists, which have often served as the inspirations for Jouissance. I also love reading the magazines and technical guide books published by Nez. Since I’m terribly introverted, these quiet hours are usually when I feel most at ease and receptive to inspirations and creative growth.
TW: You’ve just started Jouissance, a unique perfume brand connecting scent to the arts. How are you connecting scents with other aspects of culture?
CC:
Our best-selling fragrance, EN PLEIN AIR, draws inspiration from none other than the iconic Parisian art-world luminary, Catherine Millet. A defining figure in the French art scene since the 1970s, Millet is widely recognized for her provocative memoir, The Sexual Life of Catherine M. Yet, her impact extends far beyond this infamous work. The name EN PLEIN AIR nods to the Impressionist tradition of painting outdoors while also playfully references the alfresco exploits Millet recounts in her memoir. On our website, we describe this fragrance as perfect for those who want to smell like ‘an unassuming art critic on her way to an orgy’—a cheeky and fitting tribute to this bold and brilliant icon.
Beyond drawing inspiration from the art world, I’ve sought to infuse my passion for the arts through meaningful collaborations with artists. Since the inception of Jouissance, I’ve been fortunate to partner with two exceptional artists that I truly admire: Katrien de Blauwer and Emma Rose Schwartz.
For our debut fragrance collection, I have invited the Belgian artist Katrien de Blawuwer to create a body of limited edition artworks in response to the three fragrances. I was deeply honored when Katrien agreed to create the images for our debut collection, bringing to life the essence of the three fragrances. Her work provided a visual identity that perfectly complemented what had, until then, been a primarily textual and olfactory project.
For our first publishing project, The Collector —an anthology of erotic short stories spearheaded and edited by my longtime collaborator Sarah Cleaver—we commissioned illustrations from the exceptionally talented Emma Rose Schwartz. I discovered Emma’s work through her gallery, Brunette Coleman, when Ted and Anna shared the preview of their Old Mortality exhibition with me. I immediately fell in love with Emma’s refined approach to layering techniques, the poetic and dreamlike quality of her subjects, and, most importantly, the literary inspirations woven into her art. For The Collector, Emma created four exquisite red chalk drawings, each uniquely responding to one of the short stories. These artworks were scanned and reprinted in our publication, though no reproduction could fully capture the delicate nuances of her originals.
TW: What is the mission of Jouissance in the art of life?
CC:
The mission of Jouissance is to foster a vibrant community where artists can freely explore their erotic imaginations and exchange creative inspirations, united by a shared love of perfume, art, literature, and cinema. In the past, we have supported initiatives such as Love is a Constant Becoming, Like the Revolution (writers responding to the work of influence of Marguerite Duras), curated by Susanna Davies-Crook at the ICA. In 2025, we are looking forward to hosting more of our own creative exchange events, including writing workshops and film screenings.
By choosing perfume as our medium, we aim to introduce a more artful form of transformation and escapism into everyday life, harnessing the evocative power of scent.It is my hope that Jouissance customers would view their Jouissance fragrance as a catalyst for boundless inspiration, an essential companion in their journey of self-expression and creativity.
TW: Your educational background is in Art Business and Art Theory. What made you switch paths to perfumery?
CC:
I’ve always been captivated by the allure of scent, collecting discontinued fragrances that seem to hold stories within them, embodying the spirit and zeitgeist of their time. When I founded Jouissance two years ago, it became a vessel for translating my creative vision into a tangible, sensory medium. It was also a conscious pivot away from the visual dominance of ocularcentrism in the arts, embracing the evocative and often overlooked power of scent as a means of expression.
Since launching Jouissance, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with exceptionally talented perfumers. Perfumery, like other classical art forms, requires years of rigorous training and practice—a path I had not walked when I began two years ago, given my background in art and visual culture. From the outset, I’ve relied on the expertise of industry professionals to co-create the fragrances we bring to market. However, my first step into formal perfumery training was born of curiosity. That initial course not only deepened my understanding but also dismantled several misconceptions I held about the art form, its ingredients, and its practitioners. For instance, I once believed that perfumers possessed an innately heightened sense of smell, a biological advantage that set them apart. Yet, one of the earliest lessons I learned is that most of us perceive scents similarly—it is the untrained who often lack the vocabulary to categorize and articulate their experiences. This intersection of language and olfaction fascinates me and aligns perfectly with Jouissance’s mission to explore the relationship between scent and literature.
Over the past two years, I’ve immersed myself further in the art and industry of perfumery. My journey has taken me to the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, where I honed foundational skills, and to trade shows in France and Italy, which broadened my perspective on the global market. Most recently, I’ve had the honour of studying under the renowned perfumer Antoine Lie. These experiences have been transformative, and I’m thrilled to share that I’m preparing to launch my debut fragrance formulation that I’ve created and completed by myself in the second half of 2025.
“The mission of Jouissance is to foster a vibrant community where artists can freely explore their erotic imaginations and exchange creative inspirations, united by a shared love of perfume, art, literature, and cinema.”
TW: If you could collaborate with any artist for Jouissance – who would it be?
CC:
The artist that I would absolutely love to work with in the near future is Ella Fleck. I recently attended the opening of her exhibition Spray at Season 4 Episode 6, which featured a captivating pheromone fog that enveloped the entire gallery space. The pheromone sprays, which contain trace amounts of Androstenol and Oxytocin, are the result of Ella’s nine months of research within a Discord channel for heterosexual men seeking to enhance their success with women. Rather than relying on genuine emotional effort and natural charm, these men discuss their use of pheromones and a subliminal messaging technique called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
I would also love to collaborate with a glass artist at some point to create a series of one-of-a-kind perfume flasks. I’ve had my eyes on Miranda Keyes since discovering her at Caspar Williams’ exhibition at Palazzo Soranzo Cappello in Venice and Jermaine Gallacher’s exhibition at the Ragged School in London last year.
TW: How are you seeing art and brand interacting more and who do you think is doing this best?
CC: In my view, the most successful art and brand collaborations are rooted in a dynamic, ongoing dialogue between the commissioning brand and the artist. A brand should consistently encourage and challenge artists to create new, original works, rather than simply licensing existing pieces that have been appropriated from different contexts. The key to a truly meaningful collaboration lies in offering the artist maximum creative freedom, rather than imposing strict limitations on the deliverables.
TW: What has been the most significant book in your life to date?
CC: Right now, I’ve been immersing myself in perfume-related books. I highly recommend Scent and Subversion by Barbara Herman, The Diary of a Nose by Jean-Claude Ellena, and The Secret of Scent by Luca Turin. The biannual Nez magazine is also an outstanding resource, offering not only the latest industry trends but also in-depth explorations of how scent intersects with art, culture, and lifestyle.
TW: What is the next art opening marked in your new 2025 diary, which our readers should be aware of?
CC: ‘Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley’ at Alison Jacques Gallery curated by my dear friend and mentor Daniel Malarkey, opening 24th January. Jake Grewal, ‘Under the Same Sky’ at Studio Voltaire, opening on 14th January. Condo Weekend (18th – 19th January): Brunette Coleman hosting Francis Irv (New York), Hot Wheels hosting Empty Gallery (New York), and Emalin hosting Antenna Space (Shanghai). John Cranko’s ‘Onegin’ with the Royal Ballet, opening night on 22nd January.
TW: Number one artwork you are coveting for your collection?
CC: I remember seeing some of Unica Zürn’s drawings at the last edition of FIAC. Their haunting beauty has stayed with me, though I haven’t come across them since. Their haunting beauty has lingered with me ever since, though I haven’t come across them again. I was first introduced to Zürn as the muse and partner of Hans Bellmer—a role she humbly acknowledged, and being ever so self-effacing, she even attributed her novel The Man of Jasmine to ‘the wife of Hans Bellmer.’ Yet Zürn was so much more. While her literature such as Dark Spring reflects a life shaped by illness and loss, her drawings reveal—and, with their myriad eyes, behold—a realm where wonder triumphs over despair.
TW: Who is your ultimate Monday muse alive or dead?
CC: My ultimate Monday Muse has to be the legendary Madame Helena Rubinstein—a trailblazer who revolutionized the beauty industry. As the founder of one of the first beauty franchises established by a woman, she quickly established herself as the most successful and wealthiest businesswoman of her time. Beyond her entrepreneurial achievements, Rubinstein was one of the world’s premier design patrons and art collectors. Her discerning eye and passion for beauty extended to every facet of her life. She amassed an extraordinary collection of art and objects and mingled with the cultural luminaries of the 1920s and 1930s Parisian avant-garde.
