For his first individual exhibition, Adrien De Melo presents a structural vision of the object at Galerie BSL, a skeletal framework that he covers with mineral or vegetal skin. This young designer from the world of artistic production explores an intimate point of tension between true and false, real nature and recreated nature, on the one hand reminiscent of a forest landscape, on the other a metaphor of a rocky surface. Through 7 limited edition objects he reveals the map of an imaginary land where onyx, ceramic and wood form an elegant display of irreverent technical recompositions.
SLICED/TABLE
The SLICED table is a formal and fictional investigation dedicated to the reconstruction of the vertical section of a tree trunk from 9 species of wood, together forming a veined, dynamic and contrasting patchwork. SLICED, a 250 cm long offset representation of a forest landscape, denotes and values what is in fact disappearing today in the process of industrialization of wood: the form, the texture and the very character of the species.
SLICED, 2011
Table / Table
Aluminium brossé, 9 essences de bois : wengé, chêne, acajou d’Afrique, noyer d’Amérique, frêne foncé, frêne clair, hêtre étuvé, merisier d’Amérique, érable canadien.
/ Brushed aluminium, 9 wood species: wenge; oak; African mahogany; American walnut; dark ash; light ash; steamed beech; American cherry; Canadian maple.
H/77 x L/250 x P/W 110 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 8 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 8 + 1 prototype
The table top is made from honeycomb composite and 9 wood species covering the sides: wenge; oak; African mahogany; American walnut; dark ash; light ash; steamed beech; American cherry; Canadian maple. Each of the 4 bases is manually turned from a single block of brushed aluminium to achieve a conical form that is as refined as possible, modelled on an abstract pedestal intended to highlight the cabinetmaking skills used for the table top.
MY MOUNTAIN/ARMCHAIR
MY MOUNTAIN is the mountain that we will all have to climb one day. Geometrically, the shape is based upon Mont-Blanc’s topographical relief, 4 of its crests thus forming the base. The outline interprets the longitudinal section of a relief or a rocky surface, to which the user is metaphorically invited to take advantage of the landscape. The seat explores the style of princely seats reminiscent of classics such as Ron Arad’s ‘Little Albert’.
MY MOUNTAIN, 2011
Fauteuil / Seat
Bois – couleur au choix / Wood – color on choice
H/77 x L/60 x P/W 60 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 8 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 8 + 1 prototype
STRIPES/STOOL, BENCH, COFFEE TABLE
The STRIPES collection (stool, bench and coffee table) is the formal synthesis of this exhibition, resuming the formal approach of the SLICED table with a piece of wood built from several species, and exploring the
The STRIPES base unit is a dense and visually asymmetrical ‘tree-object(s),’ presenting 30 layers of solid wood from 3 species with as many rings evoking lifecycles, genealogy, or the ordeals experienced. The upward and tapering allure evokes the skill of a potter, as if the object had been turned in one piece, the body fusing soaring vertically upwards.
STRIPES, 2011
Tabouret / Stool
Merisier d’Amérique, wengé, noyer d’Amérique et/ou frêne clair / American cherry, wenge, American walnut and/or light ash.
H/45 x L/37 x P/W 37 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 10 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 10 + 1 prototype
idea of sedimentation and historical stratification of the geological MY MOUNTAIN armchair.
Banc / Bench
Merisier d’Amérique, wengé et frêne clair / American cherry, wenge and light ash.
H/45 x L/155 x P/W 32-42 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 8 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 8 + 1 prototype
Table basse / Coffee table
Merisier d’Amérique, wengé et noyer d’Amérique, onyx blanc / American cherry, wenge and American walnut, white onyx.
H/48 x L/60 x P/W 51 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 8 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 8 + 1 prototype
LILI/FLOOR LAMP
175 cm high, weighing 39 kg, LILI is a floor lamp which displays the apparent lightness of a white onyx stone, raised, uplifted by a base uniting 8 brushed stainless steel trombone shapes. Its slender silhouette, topped by a levitating quadrilateral, evokes the graphic design in suspension of New York water towers. Fossilised nerves, veins and fluids appear and light up within this interior lamp where the almost translucent rock becomes light.
LILI, 2011
Lampe de sol / Floor lamp
Onyx blanc, inox brossé / White onyx, brushed inox.
H/175 x L/50 x P/50 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 8 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 8 + 1 prototype
POINT BREAK/VASE
The glazed earthenware POINT BREAK vase available in 3 colours – optical white, stormy blue, ink-black – represents a moment of tension, fusion and fission. With a play on balance and imbalance, it suggests the implosive as well as explosive meeting of two forces, phenomena or opposing personalities. Two natures in one single object which perhaps embodies, in its mineral tension, the inner paradoxical, as well as permanent fight between Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde…
POINT BREAK, 2011
Vase / Vase
Céramique / Ceramic
Blanc optique, bleu orage ou noir d’encre / optical white, stormy blue, ink-black.
H/37 x L/15 x P/15 cm
Pièces signées et numérotées / Signed and numbered pieces
Edition galerie BSL de 20 + 1 prototype / Galerie BSL edition of 20 + 1 prototype
PHOTO COPYRIGHT : ULYSSE FRÉCHELIN
Adrien De Melo
Solo Show 9th September to 12th November 2011
Galerie BSL
23 rue Charlot 75003 Paris
+ 33 1 44 78 94 14
DUENDE PR 