Petite Loire. Liquid marble by Mathieu Lehanneur
12/07/2016.
[Chaumont-sur-Loire] France
metalocus, PALOMA DE LA QUINTANA
metalocus, PALOMA DE LA QUINTANA
The installation evokes the surreal vision of a river; made by the MCM ateliers, of a single piece of hand-polished green marble, and designed using the latest 3D software, Petite Loire reproduces the visual effect of a water surface, gently ruffled by the wind.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
'Liquid Marble' series at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature. Photography © Michel Giesbrecht.
Visualization of Mathieu Lehanner’s ‘liquid marble’ installed inside the V&A’s Norfolk house Music Room.
Visualization of Mathieu Lehanner’s ‘liquid marble’ installed inside the V&A’s Norfolk house Music Room.
During the international gardens festival — on from now until november 2016 — french designer Mathieu Lehanneur brings the 'Petite Loire' installation to the courtyard of Domaine de Chaumont-sur-loire centre d’arts et de nature in France. The installation focuses on the way in which marble, water and light come together in an ideal combination.
Petite Loire is the surreal and materialized vision of the static river in its movement. Entirely made of polished green marble, the work perfectly reproduces the relief of water. The environment reflects and distorts itself. Petite Loire seems like a piece of a river fossilized in stone.
Petite Loire is the surreal and materialized vision of the static river in its movement. Entirely made of polished green marble, the work perfectly reproduces the relief of water. The environment reflects and distorts itself. Petite Loire seems like a piece of a river fossilized in stone.
“I wanted to address the garden with water as my muse. The water whose presence we sense even before we first catch sight of it below the Château, flowing uninterrupted to the sea. Some say the Loire is France’s last wild river; it shapes and nourishes the landscapes, it passes through without ever pausing along the way. Petite Loire is a freeze-frame, the river’s perpetual movement caught in a frozen, fossilized moment. A few dozen meters above the river’s natural level, Petite Loire cuts cleanly through the garden’s surface, delving into the soil to reveal a fluvial relief, both vertiginous and practicable, in green marble” says Lehanneur.
Based on the idea of showing ephemeral things - of capturing indistinct, random moments and transforming them into something solid, the project Liquid Marble explores the possibilities of algorithm, in an effort to hold and freeze what usually disappears into vanity.
"I hope that, when passing the Chateau gates, the visitor will experience something that comes close to a magic portal, to a forbidden place in so many fairytales. Everything is liquid in this space, evanescent, enlightened, and yet it is executed in a material that is the one of the most solid imaginable.” Mathieu Lehanneur.
A variation of Mathieu Lehanneur’s ongoing ‘liquid marble’ series, exploring the materiality of natural stone after which it is named, will be installed at the Victoria and Albert Museum during the London Design Festival 2016 (17-25 September 2016)."I like the contrast between the deep silence of Liquid Marble and Norfolk House Music Room, whose luxurious décor hosted the most beautiful symphonies." explains the artist.
Designed using the latest 3D software, normally used for moving pictures and special effects, Liquid Marble is entirely made in digitally sculpted black marble and polished by hand. Liquid Marble is 45 cm high, and will be displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum elevated by a pedestal, this leaves the opportunity for visitors to sit on this disturbing material which is both liquid and solid.
More information
Work
Petite Loire from Liquid Marble series
Venue
Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’Arts et Nature 41150 Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Date
from May 5 to November 2, 2016
Dimensions
7,5 x 2,5 m
Material
Polished green marble, carved in a 3D software digital machine
Made by
MCM - Mármores Centrais do Minho
Mathieu Lehanneur
Mathieu Lehanneur, one of the top designers and influencers, is a French designer who is at the forefront of the international design scene. He is also one of the few in his generation to use his talents in a variety of areas, beyond furniture.
Innovatively, he combines design, science, technology and art to create humanistic projects to achieve maximum welfare for human beings. Graduating from ENSCI-Les Ateliers / l’École nationale supérieure de création industrielle, Paris, his works are in the permanent collections of the MoMa (both New York and San Francisco/US), Centre Pompidou (Paris/FR) and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris/FR).
In 2008, American magazine Popular Science’s “Best Invention Award” was awarded to Andrea, Lehanneur’s indoor air purifier, created in partnership with Harvard University and based on studies developed by NASA.
Mathieu Lehanneur collaborates with world leading brands such as Nike, Veuve Clicquot, Audemars Piguet, Hôtels Pullman, and Schneider Electric. With the same proficiency, Lehanneur creates spectacular projects for Saint Hilaire Church, UNESCO’s world heritage (Melle/FR) and works in partnership either with start-ups from different fields or important players such as Huawei, with whom he collaborates as chief designer. Lehanneur also works in limited editions or unique pieces, for the Carpenters Workshop Gallery (Paris, London and New York).
Mathieu Lehanneur was invited to lecture at TED Conference Global programme in 2009 and, in 2012, to have his book published by the German publishing house Gestalten and to have an exhibition dedicated to his work at the Le Grand Hornu Design Center, Belgium.
