Aisthesis: Sacred Design...
Feng-shui, the golden number, geobiology... even those who resist the principles of sacred geometry cannot remain insensitive the creations and the restorations done by Aisthesis. At Aisthesis, located in the Viaduc des Arts since 1998, the renowned cabinetmaker, Jérôme Cordié bestows second life on furniture. His magic touch and unique know-how makes inanimate objects acquire a life of their own by endowing objects with precious and/or semi-precious materials. His work reaches far beyond simple craftsmanship, Jérôme is an artist.
The legendary art of shagreen (from the French 'chagrin' - anxiety, annoyance - a reference to the rasping surface of the leather)
Today, there are few who master the ancient technique of transforming roughened untanned leather, into the incomparable galuchat or shagreen. The art was developed by Jean-Claude Galluchat (d. 1774), a master leatherworker at the court of Louis XV of France. It quickly became a fashion amongst the French aristocracy, and appears to have migrated throughout Europe by the mid-18th century. It regained the public's favour in the Roaring 20s and was then forgotten until Aisthesis restored it to fashion. With infinite skill, the skins of sharks or rays, transformed into a precious and uniquely sensuous material that competes with perfection when combined with gold, mother of pearl, lacquer bronze or ivory, shagreen is used to cover tables, cabinets, writing desks, and stools. These masterpieces, that are at times highly sophisticated or ostensibly simple, always follow a definite guideline. The furniture is both spectacular, simple and irradiates a soul of its own.
A sacred ancestral art.
Jérôme Cordié has managed to acquire the sacred principles of ancestral artists by using the forces of geobiology and symbols without falling into the trap of esoteric abstraction. His art has acquired a real and profound coherence that can be seen in such masterpieces as the Genese astrolabe, made of massive wood and marquetry , or the audacious Bureau des Anges made of white gold and black lacquer, an exquisite writing desk where you can simply sign your checks, or yet the André stool, made of violet wood, covered with galuchat, upon which you can sit your tired body and compose your own sonata. Whatever the work of art, seeing a creation by Aisthesis is a moment of true emotion. Buying a work of art provides an even more profound feeling of uniqueness. The price is perhaps high but it allows sharing the experience of the sacred.
Today, there are few who master the ancient technique of transforming roughened untanned leather, into the incomparable galuchat or shagreen. The art was developed by Jean-Claude Galluchat (d. 1774), a master leatherworker at the court of Louis XV of France. It quickly became a fashion amongst the French aristocracy, and appears to have migrated throughout Europe by the mid-18th century. It regained the public's favour in the Roaring 20s and was then forgotten until Aisthesis restored it to fashion. With infinite skill, the skins of sharks or rays, transformed into a precious and uniquely sensuous material that competes with perfection when combined with gold, mother of pearl, lacquer bronze or ivory, shagreen is used to cover tables, cabinets, writing desks, and stools. These masterpieces, that are at times highly sophisticated or ostensibly simple, always follow a definite guideline. The furniture is both spectacular, simple and irradiates a soul of its own.
A sacred ancestral art.
Jérôme Cordié has managed to acquire the sacred principles of ancestral artists by using the forces of geobiology and symbols without falling into the trap of esoteric abstraction. His art has acquired a real and profound coherence that can be seen in such masterpieces as the Genese astrolabe, made of massive wood and marquetry , or the audacious Bureau des Anges made of white gold and black lacquer, an exquisite writing desk where you can simply sign your checks, or yet the André stool, made of violet wood, covered with galuchat, upon which you can sit your tired body and compose your own sonata. Whatever the work of art, seeing a creation by Aisthesis is a moment of true emotion. Buying a work of art provides an even more profound feeling of uniqueness. The price is perhaps high but it allows sharing the experience of the sacred.
Octobre 2007
