Paul Mathieu, technique and freedom

Organic curves and clear geometries, ancient echoes and modern impulses, immobility and movement: Paul Mathieu, a French designer who today divides himself between New York, Aix‑en‑Provence, Udaipur and Murano, finds the perfect balance between opposites, and who, in his projects, present in the most exclusive spaces in the world, brings together sculptural art and functionality.

Born in France, Paul Mathieu was trained in art and design between Paris and London before starting his career in the United States. Today, living between India, Italy, France, and the United States, he acknowledges the fundamental role that places play in his creative exploration. He credits France for its rich heritage of history, culture, and sensitivity to nuance. England, for its access to the world thanks to its universal language and its sense of freedom. Italy, for its strong artisanal savoir-faire, which allows him to express himself and push the boundaries of his creativity. The distinctive elements and practices of each place permeate his work. “All of these influences,” he said in an interview with the independent magazine Cultured in 2016, “are reflected in my projects and allow me to create unique and exceptional pieces. […] This sense of freedom is a challenge both for me and for the artisans.”

If the experience of artisans is a compass that guides technical exploration, nature remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Paul Mathieu: it is not surprising that among the objects that are most dear to him there is an eighteenth-century edition of Virgil's Georgics. «The freedom and movement of all life of nature become motionless in an instant just as we capture it through our senses, guided by our heart. I call that “Still motion”», tells Mathieu. The Aile lamp collection, for example, is inspired by the wings of flying birds. Water, on the other hand, suggests the transparencies and reflections that can be recognized in its luminous solutions. This is what happens with the Madeleine chandelier, a unique piece in Murano glass designed for the Eglise de la Madeleine in Aix-en-Provence.

It was then, in 2003, that Paul Mathieu met Patrizia Mian, the future founder of Incalmi, in Murano, and the entire Madeleine collection, inspired by the first masterpiece, was born. With Incalmi, whose peculiarity is to bring together the different excellences of Italian savoir-faire, the collaboration tightens and expands to other materials. In the Luma collection, cannulated Murano glass meets brushed bronze cast in a rigorous weave. The Aria collection, whose chair was awarded ‘Best of Year’ by Interior Design Magazine, combines glass and hand-formed brass; the Beam wall light and chandelier glass and burnished metal. The Chateaux floor lamps combine glass, wood and leather. Paul Mathieu is free to follow the flow of his pencil, confident that Incalmi will find the best solution to realise his ideas. «I approached all of my work with freedom, free of theories, of concepts, and targets», he concludes. «I have always in mind the respect for the savoir-faire of the master-craft».

For Mathieu, designing means exploring technique and improvisation, function and emotion. Places, nature, and materials converge toward a single direction — a creative north where the freedom to choose becomes synonymous with luxury, and craftsmanship gives each object a unique intensity.

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