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Gérald Vatrin

Crafts
Apr. 
 Jun. 2023

Presentation

Glass artist Gérald Vatrin was born in Nancy, the home of Art Nouveau in France. Having immersed himself in the floral motifs inherited from the renowned École de Nancy, he then travelled through Africa and Australia, where he developed a repertoire of animal, geometric and Aboriginal forms. He is fascinated by glass; its complexity and mysterious transformation from liquid to solid. His pieces are hand-blown then decorated with engraving, enamel, applied elements or patterns cut into the surface. Their identity, shaped by the influence of multiple continents, reflects Gérald Vatrin’s many travels and his exchanges with communities who share his passion for this material.

In 2020 Gérald Vatrin contributed to the restoration of Villa Majorelle in Nancy, in collaboration with the European Centre for Research and Training in Glass Art (CERFAV). He has produced a limited edition in pâte de verre for Daum. His works are part of the collections at major museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris) and Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts (Kanazawa).

Project

Verre-Bambou (Glass & Bamboo)

Gérald Vatrin’s project at Villa Kujoyama was inspired by “Fendre l’Air – Art of Bamboo in Japan”, a 2018-2019 exhibition at Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Enthused by the properties of bamboo  – its majesty, strength and sustainability – he travelled to Kansai in Japan, which has the largest concentration of bamboo forests and where many bamboo artists have their studios. Gérald Vatrin took advantage of his residency at Villa Kujoyama to learn bamboo techniques, with the aim of incorporating this material into his glass. Japanese philosophy became a creative substrate that would give new impetus to his path as an artist. He intends his new creations to illustrate the contrast between these two materials and two cultures, striking a balance that will show the intersections between Japanese and French cultures.