Matali Crasset’s journey to recognition has been swift, and she has unquestionably cemented her place among the world’s finest designers. Nonetheless, the ideas of this outstanding French designer from the Marne region are not as readily marketable as those of some of her peers: her approach is strongly conceptual, and she is interested in installations that are a cross between art and industrial design. Her art defies classification; she prefers to keep her design options open.
Early years
Crasset’s childhood on a farm undoubtedly influenced her distinct design style. All aspects of life are intertwined in rural cultures, and problems are approached more pragmatically than in urban cultures. Crasset was accepted into one of France’s most prestigious universities, an event that profoundly influenced her intellectual growth. She aims to reimagine the world while emphasising classic themes and values like hospitality, empathy, and generosity. Her creations exemplify inventive sensuality. She frequently comes up with unexpected solutions, such as food and drinks warmer fashioned like a human torso (for Tefal) or the lei Pari radio (for Thomson), which uses a funnel as a loudspeaker. Her art defies classification; she prefers to keep her design options open.
Influences
Crasset met the pioneering Italian designer Denis Santachiara, whose novel design processes she studied for a year during a time of practical instruction in Milan. Another influential personality has been Philippe Starck, under whom she worked on designing radios and recorders for Tim Thom, the design department of the French electronics company Thomson. She designed furniture for Domeau & Peres, Domodinamica, and Neotu beginning in the late 1990s. She designed lighting for Artemide in her studio. Crasset has also worked on initiatives that investigate how humans interact with their surroundings. Despite her unusual style, she never loses her sense of realism, as evidenced by the widely appreciated interior of the Hi Hotel in Nice.
Sources
Polster, B. (2006). The A to Z of modern design. Merrell.
Additional Reading
Matali Crasset
Our most recent ‘DESIGNERS’
-
Exploring the Life and Legacy of Shiro Kuramata (1934 – 1991)
Shiro Kuramata is a Japanese interior and furniture designer who has executed many interiors for Issey Miyake shops. His best-known pieces are his glass chair (1976) and homage to Hoffmann, Begin the Beguine (1985). His interior designs make use of expanded lattice metal and moiré effects. His portfolio includes furniture in irregular forms and large…
-
Lilly Reich (1885 – 1947) – German Interior Designer
Lilly Reich was a German interior designer and furniture and exhibition designer who studied embroidery and collaborated with Else Oppler-Legband. Reich’s professional relationship with Mies van der Rohe began with the 1927 ‘Weissenhof-Siedlung’ exhibition, and she designed interiors and furniture for the 1936 of Dr Facius in Berlin-Dahlem and 1939 furniture for Dr Schäppi’s apartment…
-
Pavel Hlava (1924 – 2003) Czech Glassware Designer
He was best known for his cut and engraved glass. Hlava enhanced a number of innovative technologies, both in terms of conception and manufacturing. These featured melted silver leaf and other materials, as well as skeleton moulds for shaping glass.Read More →
-
René Gabriel (1890 – 1950) French Interior Designer
René Gabriel was a follower of Francis Jourdain who made wallpaper, fabric, rugs, and porcelain for the Manufacture de Sèvres. He also designed bent-metal tubular seating and structures, and opened Ateliers d’Art, Neuilly. He taught at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués and was the director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. His work…
-
The Adams Family Name and English Potters
In the 1800s, three separate members with the Adams family name—William Adams (1748-1831), Benjamin Adams (1820), and William Adams—made Anglo-Saxon pottery. (1898-1865). William Adams and Sons is a company that has been around since 1769. It is based in Tunstall and Stoke, both in Staffordshire. It was noted for making high-quality things, especially blue-and-white pottery…
-
Elizabeth Peacock (1880 – 1969) British textile designer
She was best known for the eight banners commissioned by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst for the Great Hall in Dartington between 1934 and 1938. She was a spinner, dyer, and weaver and an outstanding teacher from 1940 until 1957.Read More →
-
Luciano Baldessari (1896 – 1982) Italian Designer
Luciano Baldessari was an Italian designer and architect who collaborated with Futurist artist Fortunato Depero and published the 1929 Luminator torchère. He designed the 1929-32 De Angeli Frua Press building, Craja bar, Cima chocolate manufacture, Vesta Pavilion, Milan Triennale, and Breda Pavilion.Read More →
-
Henri Navarre (1885 – 1970) French Metalworker
Henri Navarre was a French sculptor, architect, silversmith, and glassmaker who was influenced by Maurice Marinot and exhibited his work at Galerie Edgar Brandt and Maison Geo Rouard.Read More →
-
Eliot Noyes (1910 – 1977) American industrial designer
Eliot Noyes (1910 – 1977) was an industrial designer from the United States. From 1928 to 1932, he studied architecture at Harvard University, followed by stints at the Graduate School of Design from 1932 to 1935 and 1937 to 1938. Read More →
-
Friedl Dicker – Austrian Jewish Designer: A Creative Journey
Friedl Dicker (1899 – 1944) was an Austrian architect and furniture, interior, and textile designer. She was active with Franz Singer in their Werkstätten bildender Kunst, Berlin, and amalgamated her studio with Singer’s, Vienna, designing houses, apartments, kindergartens, offices, textiles, interiors, and furniture. She was arrested during the Starhemberg Putsch in Vienna, practised interior architecture…
-
What Does Norman Foster Bring to the Table as an Architect?
Norman Foster is a British architect and designer known for creating neutral rooms and high-tech furniture systems. He was a member of the council and an honorary member of the Royal College of Art.Read More →
-
The Impact of Alan Fletcher on British Graphic Design
Alan Fletcher was a highly regarded British graphic designer who worked for IBM, Fortune magazine, and the Container Corporation of America. Fletcher was interested in visual ambiguity and added value, investing solutions with visual surprise and wit.Read More →
-
A Glimpse of David Palterer an Israeli Designer
David Palterer is an Israeli designer born in Haifa. He is professionally active in Florence.Read More →
-
John Vassos (1898 – 1985) Greek American Designer
John Vassos was a Greek illustrator and designer born in Bucharest and professionally active in Boston. He studied at the Boston, Museum of Fine Arts School, and Art Students’ League, and produced graphic design for labels, packages, and small appliances. He used applied psychology to analyse buying habits and motivations. Read More →
-
Otti Berger (1898 – 1944) Bauhaus Designer weaver
Otti Berger was a Bauhaus designer, weaver, teacher, and head of the Bauhaus Weaving Workshop. Berger was the only textile artist at the Bauhaus who was well-known internationally, and her inventions were granted patents.Read More →
-
Ward Bennett (1917 – 2003) American Designer – Defined an Era
Ward Bennett (1917–2003) was a New York designer, sculptor, textile, jewellery, industrial, and interior designer. At the height of his career in the 1960s and 1970s, he stood for an American aesthetic against more prevalent European trends. Read More →
-
Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) is the history of modern architecture
Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) was an architect born in Germany in the early twentieth century who contributed to the founding of the Bauhaus School. He lived in the United States after 1937 and taught at Harvard University, where he continued to defend the principles of Bauhaus, especially the use of functional materials and clean…
-
Swatch Watch a Design Classic
Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.Read More →
-
Theodor Kittelsen (1857 – 1914) Norwegian Ceramicist and Book Illustrator
In the early 1900s, he was a designer for Porsgrunds Porselaensfabrik, Porsgrunn. In 1882 Kittelsen was granted a state scholarship to study in Paris. In 1887 he returned to Norway for good. When back in Norway, he found nature to be a great inspiration. He spent the next two years in Lofoten, where he lived…
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.