At this year’s Maison&Objet show, French designer and ceramicist Alan Louis unveiled a new body of work featuring furniture and lighting made from chamotte stoneware. Louis, who started working with ceramics fairly recently in 2021 when he created his eponymous brand, is moved by the possibility and uncertainty of clay. “When we plunge our hands into it, thoughts flow from the mind, creating images, shapes, which slip into the fingers and infiltrate the material. Ideas materialize live. It’s magical,” the designer shares. With his latest release, Louis explores the beauty in dualities, where opposite design expressions come together to create an unexpected object.
The collection consists of benches, tables, consoles, and lamps that, with the exception of a few pieces, marry minimalist forms and spiked embellishments that are reminiscent of the medieval ball flail. For the objects without pointed adornments, the theme of opposition still continues. Whether it’s a side table comprising a stacked spherical base with a jagged top or a bench featuring soft boucle upholstery in contrast with the hard ceramic stoneware, Louis continues to challenge what the preconceived ideas of objects – especially ones made of clay – should look like and present the possibilities of what they can look like.
For more information about Alan Louis, visit alanlouisparis.com.