Paul Mathieu’s furniture and lighting designs are like the man himself—unique with depth and style. The commonality of his designs, whether they are a bespoke creation for a client, one of his collections, representations, or licensees, are pure Paul Mathieu in their exquisite craftsmanship and aesthetic austerity fabricated from the finest materials and with innovative technology.
SP: How do you distinguish between design and art?
PM: I feel design is attached to a practical function at its origin. Whereas art is the expression of an inner emotion. Today the two meet, creating a beautiful combination and harmonization between function and emotion.
SP: What are the objects to you that you create?
PM: An object that I have created will later speak to me of something I had not thought at the time I created it. In that way it makes me continue the conversation with other objects. Ultimately, these objects are a dialogue between me and the outside world.
SP: Where do you place utility in design?
PM: I think that all of our utilitarian needs are already fulfilled. For example, if I think of a lamp I will first think of light, going beyond the lamp itself: how it will cast light, the shadows it will create. Like with the stone-carved jail screens which have inspired me, I consider the play of shadows inside rooms, the impressions made upon both the view and the viewer, the dance of patterns on faces and figures passing by.
I am drawn to sculptural forms of light, such as the reflections of water cast onto the sides of a boat. I’m drawn to its way of reflecting, its way of casting shade, radiance, movement, and defining contours. This is a form of story-telling. I shape the function around the vision I want to create, the story.
SP: In your opinion, is design a luxury or a necessity?
PM: Design is an open door to choices. My idea of luxury is to have the freedom of choice.
SP: Any special moments in your creation that you would like to share!?
PM: To enter a beautiful space and discover one of my creations, born far away in one of my studios in Aix-en-Provence, New York City, or Udaipur, in dialogue with pieces of art and the larger environment is always a special moment for me.
This moment could happen walking into an apartment high above Manhattan to find a custom bronze Ruban mirror reflecting a Cindy Sherman photograph. Or the unforgettable experience of seeing my designs exhibited inside the minimalist Renzo Piano building at Chateau la Coste, surrounded by the beauty of Provencal vineyards. Moments like these are deeply inspiring.
SP: Where do you find your inspiration?
PM: The source of my inspiration is in the moment, always free and flowing. It could be a number of things from nature, a conversation, architectural details, a piece of music, literature or art. These moments are interwoven with memories of my father sculpting in his atelier in the French countryside and the energy of creative freedom that he expressed and that I now carry within me.
SP: What materials do you prefer using in your creation?
PM: I gravitate to materials that invite a fluid, dynamic interpretation like stone, bronze, wood, and pate de verre glass; materials which have an honesty and a soul that reflect their source and a life of their own. I am also exploring work with resin with the Pucci sculpture studio in NYC, where we developed my DEE table and GRACE floor lamp.
During my career I have had great opportunities to connect with master craftsmen and to mix their passion and skills with mine. Whether working in Murano, Italy with glass masters, with bronze foundries in France and the US, or with stone carvers in Rajasthan and Italy, their energy and skill feeds into the flow of my inspiration and brings my vision to life.
Image Courtesy: Paul Mathieu, Meropi Mitrou`
Find more about Artist and Artworks:
https://www.meropiphotography.com/
https://www.archdaily.com/871645/chateau-la-coste-art-gallery-renzo-piano-building-workshop
