Backstage with
Artist / Designer
GILDAS BERTHELOT
TODAY’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, IS WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY ARTIST, GILDAS BERTHELOT. GILDAS IS RENOWNED FOR HIS CAPTIVATING WORKS THAT BLEND INTRICATE CRAFTSMANSHIP, PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN DESIGN AND CONTEMPORARY ART.
GILDAS, IT’S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU WITH US TODAY. YOUR WORK HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A HARMONIOUS FUSION OF ORGANIC FORMS AND SURREALIST ELEMENTS, CREATING A VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT IS BOTH UNIQUE AND EVOCATIVE. WE’RE EAGER TO DELVE INTO THE INSPIRATIONS BEHIND YOUR ART, YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS, AND THE STORIES THAT YOUR PIECES TELL.
SO, LET’S START AT THE BEGINNING. CAN YOU SHARE WITH US YOUR JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF ART? WHAT WERE THE PIVOTAL MOMENTS THAT SHAPED YOUR PATH AS AN ARTIST?
MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER AS WELL AS MY GRANDFATHER WERE CARPENTERS IN BRITTANY, IN THE WEST FROM FRANCE. MY FATHER WAS A CABINETMAKER, WORKING IN THE PARIS SUBURBS. IT WAS IN THE BUSINESS OF MY FATHER THAT I STARTED MY APPRENTICESHIP WHEN I WAS JUST 16 YEARS OLD. AFTERWARDS, I JUST WORKED IN DIFFERENT COMPANY.
AT THE TURN OF MY TWENTIES, I TURNED MY BACK ON FAMILY ATAVISM AND I ENTERED THE “L’ÉCOLE SUPÉRIEUR NATIONALE DE PARIS “ WHERE I LEARNED SCULPTURE. TOWARDS THE END OF MY SCHOOL I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT A SYNTHESIS BETWEEN FURNITURE AND SCULPTURE. IT WAS ONLY IN 1997; ALTHOUGH IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE I DECIDED TO ACCEPT MY CONDITION AS A CABINETMAKER AND TO INCLUDE IT IN MY ARTISTIC RESEARCH.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ARTISTIC OR DESIGN STYLE, AND WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE OR DISTINCT FROM OTHERS IN YOUR FIELD?
I HAVE A VERY ORGANIC STYLE. I BELIEVE THAT I CAN BE CLASSIFIED IN THE BAROQUE FAMILY, ALTHOUGH I AM SOMETIMES CAPABLE OF CREATING RELATIVELY SIMPLE SHAPES. I’M THINKING, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM MY COLLECTION OF BENCHES: ÉLOGE DE LA RONDEUR 1,2 AND 4. I’M NOT TRYING TO BE UNIQUE, I THINK IT’S A CHILDISH ATTITUDE. I’M NOT TRYING TO ACHIEVE UNANIMITY EITHER. I HAVE AN INTUITION AND I SEE WHERE IT TAKES ME. IT’S MAINLY A QUESTION OF METHOD AND WORK.
“I HAVE AN INTUITION, AND I SEE WHERE IT TAKES ME. ”
CAN YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS OR ARTWORKS YOU PARTICULARLY ADMIRE? WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE WHILE WORKING ON THEM, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
OF ALL MY PRODUCTION, THE PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT I PREFER IS L’INFINI FAUTEUIL WHICH WAS PRESENTED AT THE ART+DESIGN SALON IN NEW YORK IN 2018. IT IS A COMPLEX BUT VERY COHERENT PIECE OF FURNITURE. I DESIGNED AND MACERATE THIS PROJECT FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE FINDING THE FORM THAT SATISFIED ME.
I WANTED THIS ARMCHAIR TO REFLECT THE SHAPE I HAD IMAGINED BUT ALSO TO BE COMFORTABLE. I MADE A LIFE-SIZE MODEL OUT OF STYROFOAM. I HAD THIS PROTOTYPE TESTED BY SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT BODY TYPES AND I MODIFIED THE SHAPE UNTIL I OBTAINED THE BEST ERGONOMIC COMPROMISE.
“ONE FORM WHISPER THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT FORM ”
WHAT ROLE DOES RESEARCH PLAY IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? HOW DO YOU GATHER INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION BEFORE STARTING A NEW PROJECT?
I NEED TO DAYDREAM FOR A LONG TIME IN FRONT OF A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER. THEN I JUGGLE BETWEEN DRAWING AND SCALE WOODEN MODELS. SOMETIMES I REDRAW MY MODELS AS OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE DONE.
SOMETIMES I WRITE OR I TRY TO TRANSLATE INTO WORDS, THE FORM I FEEL. BY ALTERNATING BETWEEN WRITING, DRAWING AND SCULPTURE, I END UP OBTAINING A FORM THAT MAKES SENSE. ONE FORM WHISPER THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT FORM AND THE DESIRE TO DO BETTER, DIFFERENTLY: IT’S A NEVER-ENDING GAME.
” I EXPRESS AN EMOTION THAT RESIDES WITHIN ME ”
WHAT ROLE DOES STORYTELLING OR NARRATIVE PLAY IN YOUR WORK? HOW DO YOU USE VISUAL ELEMENTS TO CONVEY A MESSAGE OR STORY THROUGH YOUR ART OR DESIGN?
I NEVER FELT LIKE I HAD A MESSAGE TO DELIVER. WHEN I DESIGN A PIECE OF FURNITURE, I EXPRESS AN EMOTION THAT RESIDES WITHIN ME. I SEE IN THE CURVES OF MY FURNITURE BOTH BODIES AND A HORIZON LINE, AS MUCH A STRANGE ANIMAL AS THE MEMORY OF A PLEASANT MOMENT.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE CREATIVE BLOCKS OR MOMENTS OF SELF-DOUBT IN YOUR WORK? DO YOU HAVE ANY STRATEGIES OR TECHNIQUES FOR OVERCOMING THESE CHALLENGES AND MAINTAINING YOUR CREATIVE FLOW?
I AM MANAGING MY CREATIVE BLOCKS BETTER AND BETTER. THESE BLOCKAGES ARE PART OF LIFE. I AM PATIENT AND VERY STUBBORN. I DRAW A LOT AND REGULARLY. AT THE SAME TIME I AM LEARNING TO RELAX AND NOT FORCE MYSELF, WHICH CAN SEEM CONTRADICTORY WITH MY PATIENCE AND MY STUBBORNNESS. I AM OFTEN IN A WAITING ATTITUDE. SOMETIMES SOMETHING HAPPENS, SOMETIMES IT DOESN’T.
GILDAS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR TIME AND INSIGHTS WITH US TODAY. IT’S BEEN FASCINATING TO EXPLORE THE DEPTHS OF YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INSPIRATIONS AND TECHNIQUES BEHIND YOUR REMARKABLE WORK. YOUR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE AND DEDICATION TO YOUR CRAFT ARE TRULY INSPIRING. WE WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ALL YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF YOUR INCREDIBLE ART. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY AND FOR GIVING OUR AUDIENCE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ART AND VISION OF GILDAS BERTHELOT.
