Following the success of the 50 Seas exhibition in 2018, Christie’s France is renewing its Carte Blanche with Mathieu Lehanneur. The internationally-renowned designer, responsible for such emblematic and symbolic objects for Paris 2024 as the Olympic flame and cauldron, previews the Ici et maintenant exhibition at the auction house from January 17 to 23.
A lover of nature, watery surfaces and reflections on the oneness of the world, Mathieu Lehanneur unveils his latest exhibition, presented at the Paris headquarters of auction house Christie’s.
Entitled Ici et Maintenant, the exhibition allows the French designer, interviewed in LUXUS MAGAZINE N°9 (Autumn-Winter 2024-25), to revisit his personal leitmotivs, from the importance of nature to that of present time (Carpe Diem) and transmission.
The exhibition features I am, a project that revisits the chair, an object as banal as it is utilitarian, but from the angle of singularity.
Modern monogram
What if tomorrow’s distinction went beyond streetwear to the modern refuge of the home?
After having modeled the demographics of each country in 3D in his work State of The World and inventoried the many shades of blue immensity, with 50 Seas, the designer is once again interested in the principle of uniqueness.
The desire to stand out from the crowd and think outside the box has never been stronger among today’s contemporaries. And it’s with an awareness of the importance of individual identity that Mathieu Lehanneur has imagined a series of exclusive chairs that go beyond their purely utilitarian and aesthetic purpose.
More than a design object, the I am chair becomes an individual coat of arms, a sort of extension of the signet ring seen in jewelry, rehabilitated in recent years by the younger generation.
“Our initials are like our DNA, both our genealogical and symbolic code. I wanted to turn each of us into an emblem. I am is the emblem of what we are, and will be the sign and reminder of what we have been,” says Mathieu Lehanneur, designer and creator of his eponymous brand.
As much a modern monogram as a “personal logo, individualized and timeless, embodying the existence and identity of each individual”, I am also replaces the bookish knowledge represented by the library or the unusualness of the object of curiosity.
Less narcissistic than it might seem, the project is a declaration of love to twelve inspirational figures who populate the designer’s intimate creative pantheon.
We already know Mathieu Lehanneur as a child fan of the sporting prodigies of Olympic athlete Carl Lewis (see LUXUS MAGAZINE N°9), and now we discover his other tutelary figures, from architect Richard Buckminster Fuller to the recently deceased musician and master of groove, Quincy Jones… Each chair thus sees the initials of an artist blended into the seat and backrest. A veritable decorative signature, their font, shape and material reflect the identity and universe of each celebrated personality.
The I am collection prefigures a chair customization offer for private customers. Manufactured on demand, each piece is made exclusively for its future owner. The emblem is first drawn from two or more initials, then shaped in aluminum. The I am chair can then be finished in nickel or copper.
“They are my family of hearts and minds, my intimate Pantheon. Their high standards, talent and humility nourish me. Each of them, through their work, their personality or their discoveries, participates in my life without even knowing it. Their existence is useful to mine…” explains Mathieu Lehanneur.
Fugit irreparabile tempus
Beyond social distinction, Mathieu Lehanneur invites visitors to ponder the impalpable passage of time, celebrated by the poet Virgil in his Georgics: “Sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus, singula dum capti circumvectamur amore”, meaning: “But in the meantime, it flees: time flees without return, while we wander, prisoners of our love of detail.
Time for oneself, which differs from time for others, is nowadays dilated, asynchronous, fragmented, even fantasized. In any case, it escapes us, and we all dream of being able to optimize it according to our own needs.
And yet, to regain control over the impermanence of the world, there’s nothing like reconnecting with one’s deepest self and original nature. Faithful to his favorite subjects, Mathieu Lehanneur presents new creations imbued with water, radiant skies and delicate flowers.
Wallflower is a sort of encounter between Marcel Aymé’s fantastic short story, Le passe-muraille, and the Japanese hanami (cherry blossom period). For example,a tornado of flowers embedded in an immaculate wall demonstrates the full potential of 3D modeling.
For its part, Paradise shows a carved oak cabinet, as if re-enacting in its own way the Greek myth of Philemon and Baucis, the old sages petrified and transformed respectively into oak and lime to watch over the sanctuary of Zeus at their request.
Read also > Quincy Jones, the legendary producer and arranger-composer, takes his leave
Featured Photo: Mathieu Lehanneur portrait ©Leandro Viana/Lehanneur Studio and I am chair ©Felipe Ribon/Lehanneur Studio
