Amaury Poudray and his rod iron installations22. Feb2013

TAGS: rod iron, table, fish bowl

Amaury Poudray is a French designer who graduated from Ecole Supérieure d’Art et de Design of St Etienne in 2009.

He studied in USA at Rhode Island School of Design and joined FABRICA, research and communication center of the Benetton group, in Italy for 1 year residency.
He is the co-founder of USIN-e label created in 2009, which was selected in 2011 as ‘’Talents à la carte’’ for Maison&Objet furniture fair and received a Label VIA in 2011.

He opened his Studio in Lyon in May 2012 and since then designs furniture, objects and interiors and develops communication strategies and creative concepts for companies.

Comments

Following its interest in developing conversations with designers from around the globe, DDJ has interviewed Amaury who told us his story about his creation process.

What triggered you to start to design things?
It is the client, my collaborators, the context which are the first motives. It is all about exchange and conversations. I like to create different things, opposites and to propose it. Depending on the reaction of the person in front of me, a direction will become natural. It is like this until the end of the process.

What design areas are you active in now? What other areas would you like to explore in the future?
I am active in furniture design, product design and communication strategies. I would like to go more in the field of Interior design and Scenographies for dance companies.

What is the story of the first object that you created? To whom was it sold/given/donated?
I created a lot of things before but my first serious object is AIR1 aquarium which came out in a very natural way and was the main object of my degree. It reflects my firsts innocent feelings towards objects. I sold the first prototype to a Parisian collector.

What do you consider to be your best work so far?
I don’t know because every pieces are made in different contexts, for different purposes. They are all part of my direction which is creating itself along the way.

Who are your main influencers in your work?
There is no direct influences. The most important things are the people I meet, debates and the direction of my friend’s work. I am living a very simple life and I try to have as less things as possible around me. I want to feel clean inside. I want to understand my feelings, and why I do something instead of nothing. Images, sounds and feelings touches me and feed my main direction but they are not changing it completely.

Tell us about your design process.
I draw and ask, test, try, push, try again, ask again until I am sure of what I want to do in the specific context of the project. Then it is done, we only have to follow the path.

Do you have a crazy design idea? What is it?
I don’t care about crazy design idea, I want to feel free.

Many of the projects of Amaury Paudray start as installations on steel rods serving for various purposes- tables, shelves, fish bowls. “I am exploring structure’s constructions and their limits in furniture design. I add, build with simple elements. These materials, shapes and alive elements combinations make me think about the art of writing, which combine letters to create meaning.” The same pattern is followed in Prelude collection, a furniture collection made from flexible rattan mats and thin steel rods. Instead of being woven around it, the rattan mats are tucked into the frames to create new ambiguous surfaces and spaces. Amaury Poudray and Rémi Bouhaniche of usin-e have worked together on this collection and here is how they describe their creative process. “What we aim at is creating a link between things apparently in contrast: persons, techniques, materials. Creating paradoxes, tension and lightness, emptiness and fragility, like the world around us.” The “Prelude” collection consists of 7 item in a limited edition of 20 pieces and was made for the gallery, brussels in 2010.

His most recent iron rod installation is a table called Tréteaux TR1, feet of iron rods and a glass table top.

His collaboration with FABRICA, research and communication center of the Benetton group had resulted into several works over the years. In 2012 he created Objet Colorés, a system of store display fittings designed to showcase United Colors of Benetton apparel and accessories. The collection features a number of flexible fixtures in multi-coloured geometric forms serving as stools, tables, shelves, hanging racks etc., which allow each shop location to personalize the furniture pieces according to their individual needs. The series mixes a variety of shapes, bold hues and a combination of surfaces / materials (metal, wood and plastic) which compliment the brand's aesthetic.
The project was carried on by a larger group of designers including Sam Baron, Dean Brown, Marie Dessuant, Valentina Carretta and Giorgia Zanellato.

One year earlier, Amaury Poudray has designed a scenography for Benetton showroom in Milan in the occasion of the new clothing collection Autumn/Winter 2011.