Since 1740 porcelain manufacturer of sèvres continued its work on porcelain deploying through its centennial expertise and strictly manual techniques, a world of objects and figures at the frontier of art, crafts and design. At the last design week of Milan, two galeries unveiled the visual poetry of this universe, where language draws and sublimate the delicate fragility of the material.

Louis XXI-porcelaine Humaine, is an outcome of the collaboration between porcelain manufacturer of sèvres and Mouvements Modernes gallery, set in the new Van Cleef & Arpels's boutique, will present a collection of eleven sensual and organic shaped pieces – glasses and flutes- signed by Andrea Branzi.

Interview with Andrea Branzi

How did the collaboration with La Manufacture de Sèvres start?

A.B. : "The collaboration with Sevres began in 2005 trough Françoise Guichon, who was at time the director of CIRVA in Marseille and now head of the design department of the Pompidou Center. After a visit at the Factory i had the idea to use this extraordinary quality of porcelain, which remind me woman's skin. We often say « Your skin is beautiful as porcelain », even if in this case we should say « a Beautiful porcelains like woman's skin »! He took five years to obtain this miracle.

What do you appreciate in the processing of porcelain ?

A.B. : « I like the transparency, the smooth surface, the color of porcelain that i find so close to ski, which is the surface of human body.

You will present Epigrammi at the Calvi & Volpi gallery and Louis XXI for the Manufacture de Sevrès. We can say that your works are in between art and design. What these two categories means to you ?

A.B. : "The difference between art and design consist in a very small detail, altough very important, art can only be gazed, while we can gaze and use a design object.


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Interview with Sophie Mainier Jullerot, director of Mouvements Modernes gallery.

What was the genesis of this project about porcelain ?

S.M.J. : "The Sevrès Manufacture asked to Andrea Branzi to create this collection. His initial desire was to have a skin colored porcelain and create a china glass. Faithful to his reflections on hybridization and nature, on technology and sweetness, the Italian designer has created Louis XXI, porcelaine humaine as a whole, in which the organic emerge with both both forms of plant and sensual lines and dyeing. Taking inspirations from traditional vocabulary of the Manufacture, Andrea Branzi wants to include this colletion in the tradition of Sevrès , while he's having a contemporary touch."

How were articulated the various inputs ( Mouvements Modernes, Branzi, la Manifacture de Sèvres, Van Cleef & Arpels) ?

S.M.J. : "The Sevrès Manufacture make available to Andrea Branzi its know-how by creating a skin colored dyed, shaping, baking, sanding...The connection between Mouvements Modernes and Andrea Branzi is deep : Peter Staudenmeyer is a great admire and promoter of the designer-theorist ideas. He has exhibithed his works early. At his first gallery, Néotù, in 1996 he presents « Wireless », then in 1998 « Passaggi ». At the Mouvements Modernes, he will exhibit in 2004 his famous « Blisters » and « Des Hommes et des Fleurs » in 2006. The Manufacture of Sevrès and Mouvements Modernes joins togheter to promote and diffuse this collection created in a 8 exemplaires limited edition. Two exhibitions are planned for this collection : in Milan fot the Salone del Mobile at Van Cleef & Arpels and in october 2010 at galerie de Sevrès in Paris."

{{What means for you – as a gallery – your presence at the Salone del Mobile in Milan?

S.M.J. : "Our presence together with the Manufacture de Sevrès in Milan was an operation of communication and promotion of this new project by Andrea Branzi. The Milan's Salone del Mobile represents one of the most important international events in the design. It was therefore essential for us to be present to show our current activities to stakeholders present at the show.

‘Louis XXI, porcelaine humaine’ exhibition
aprile 15th 2010
Boutique Van Cleef & Arpels
Via Pietro Verri, 10

Alessandra Fanari ©modemonline