Jean-Marc Gady and Fort Royal have come together in a unique partnership to create a stunning collection of furniture, all crafted by the finest French artisans, to be presented at the “Revelations” fair at the Grand Palais, in Paris, 11th to the 15th of September 2013.
The TIMBER collection celebrates the intrinsic beauty of wood and of the arduous processes that entail its transformation, and is composed of pieces that are the perfect balance between the natural and the precious. This range embodies the harmonious metamorphosis of organic materials into unique designs by the intervention of an artisan.
This collection of marquetry pieces includes a chest of drawers, a coffee table, a Hawaiian longboard inspired bench, and a side table. A perfect marriage of fluid shapes and different wood veneers, as exemplified in this retro looking chest of drawers. To create this piece, a piece of wood has been sliced thus revealing the natural wood’s unique markings. Four concealed drawers are accessible from the front.
chest of drawers TIMBER
coffee table TIMBER
stool TIMBER
VENICE, designed by Jean-Marc GADY, produced by Craman-Lagarde, for Fort-Royal
The VENICE bench is inspired by the shapes and exotic woods used in Hawaiian longboards. This exceptional piece of cabinetry has been created to comply with the expertise of the best surfboard “shapers”.
Bench VENICE
SHITAKE, designed by Jean- Marc GADY, produced by Craman-Lagarde, for Fort-Roya
This furniture collection, designed with inlaid colored straw, is simple yet highly textured; it replicates the inherent capacity of most Asian artists to always figure out how to compose contemporary works without ever having to re- nounce their «fine arts» heritage. This delicate balance between tradition and modernity is what I set out to express in «Shitake».
coffee table SHITAKE
end table SHITAKE
chest of drawers SHITAKE
stand SHITAKE
BERENICE, designed by Jean- Marc GADY, produced by Simon Marq and Rémi Crézé for Fort-Royal
Descendent of the most handsome staircase ornaments, this screen was «woven» in a kinetic pattern that seems to generate perpetual motion, with the various slices of this steel strand set into the stained glass like a gemstone.
SUGAR CANDY, designed by Jean- Marc GADY, produced by Simon Marq and Rémi Crézé for Fort-Royal
For this lamp design, I wanted to step back from the highly standardized and austere depictions of stained-glass win- dows and instead capture a lighter, even naif, sensation by transforming what lies flat in our collective subconscious, framed as a stand-alone object to allow for 3D viewing.
Bearing witness to the role light plays in the stained-glass effect, I was guided to this series of lamps with candy tex- tures, creating a carnival-like atmosphere.
Fort Royal’s purpose is to bring together renowned crafstmen acknowledged by their peers as the best in their trade, in an effort to offer enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike privileged access to expectional works of crafstmanship.
Innovation, discipline, authenticity, precision, and an incredible dose of passion are the essential characteristics underlining the work of the team at Fort Royal. This tradition of excellence, together with a commitment to maintaining the highest standards of quality, is manifested in their use of the finest materials and maintenance of the traditional, enduring techniques of their craftsmen.
The artisans at Fort Royal are living gems of French Heritage. Their knowledge and skills must be preserved and carried forward. By grouping their commercial and administrative assets under one roof, they are able to put more value on their talents and skills and showcase their works worldwide.
« It is completely gratifying to see our craftsmen working on the most prestigious construction sites and collaborating with the best project managers of the restoration, renovation, and reproduction fields. They were trained for that, and whether it is working at a Historical site or with designer furniture, they excel at it. This is their comfort zone.
But it is as important to put this traditional high-quality craftsmanship expertise and know-how to the use of contemporary design as to continue creating and producing new exceptional pieces.
The history of high-quality craftsmanship didn’t stop with the emergence of mass manufacturing. Numerous designers are constantly enquiring about these crafts and know-how which in the last forty years has become so rare, almost to the point of disappearance. The crafts have been sacrificed by the illusion of modern economy and its manifestations.
The best way to give prestige back to these traditional and valuable crafts, and to renew them, is to create partnerships between artisans and top contemporary designers. By working in collaboration, they will give birth to emblematic pieces that will become tomorrow’s classics. This is the objective and vocation of Fort Royal.
The idea of collaborating with Jean-Marc Gady came to us effortlessly. We not only share the same principles and aspirations, but he had already worked with Jean-Paul Craman to create the “Destiny” chest of drawers. By the end of their collaboration, Jean-Marc Gady and Jean-Paul Craman were so satisfied with each other’s work and with the end results, that the desire to create a new project together was only natural. The result is a collection designed by Jean Marc Gady, created by wood, glass and metal artisans’ of Craman-Lagarde, Simon-Marq and Crézé, and edited by Fort Royal.
This collection will be presented at “Revelations”, a fine crafts and creation fair, which will take place at the Grand Palais, in September. It is great to see how we have entered a time period in which there is a desire for what we have been working hard for!” Christian Préaud, Fort Royal’s Associate Artistic Director.
Jean-Marc Gady
Jean-Marc Gady was born in Paris in 1971. Since his graduation at the École Bleue, he has developed a style charac- terised by the embodiment of meaning, sensuality, and magic. In a world in which design has been reduced to mere aesthetics, and innovation doesn’t go beyond a concept, Jean Marc Gady’s poetic, emotional, and splendid designs are unique.
His creative knowledge together with a clear understanding of luxury, objects, and space has led him to work in many fields ranging from interior design to set design. His prestigious references include: Louis Vuitton, Perrouin, Baccarat, Harto Design, Guerlain, Moët & Chandon, De Beers, Dior, Chanel, Christofle, Diptyque…
“The story behind this collection started with a collaboration with Craman Lagarde, cabinet-maker and marquetry inlayer at Revel, with whom I created the ‘Destiny’ chest of drawers. While we were working on that project, Craman Lagarde
joined the Fort Royal group. Soon after that, they proposed the idea of creating a collection of furniture in which the pieces would be produced using the different craft trades represented by the group. Intimidated, yet very excited about working with studios that have a reputation going back several hundred years, I started out to explore their world…
While partisan of a contemporary language in design, my desire for this collaboration was to highlight the excellence of what the hand can achieve and the beauty of the chosen mate- rials; to find a new design alphabet that would enlarge the field of possibilities.
For too long we have considered that the most beautiful expression of the crafts can only be manifested through the intricate and great decorative styles of the past, while their existence cannot be justified in the asceticism and minimalism of contemporary design. The work undertaken in this beauti- ful collection shows the exact opposite. Each piece proves that craftsmanship is perfectly suited for contemporary creation, at least when the systematic purification of decorative aspects is disregarded, and when emotion is expressed.
