Incollect Magazine - Issue 4

Issue 4 32 www.incollect.com develop a design. Many of his pieces explore the design tension between balance and imbalance, both in the construction and appearance of the work. He is drawn to the sense of anticipation engendered by irregularity, and the challenge of creating a work that is both elegant and wild, rough and sleek. His Stalactite Series, which includes a dining table, coffee table, console, and a desk, was technically one of the most challenging. The base design is a marvel of contrasts, with multiple legs of varying lengths, thicknesses and angles composed in a seemingly random, naturalistic form, like so many twigs in a stack. In fact, the base design is a very finely tuned, precisely engineered piece of art, and Lanvin admits, “we broke 3 or 4 of these before we got it right.” For his Block pieces, Jean-Yves was inspired by the monolithic rock and stone formations of the mountains and quarries in Tuscany. He wanted to create forms that conveyed the elemental power of rock, but elevated with an elegant and luminous finish. He settled on a mirror-polished finish in brass, with a slightly wavering surface that casts reflections similar to dappled sunlight. Finely rendered naturalistic fissures and light etching add to the organic aesthetic. The Block Table is created in five segments, which fit together or can be configured to create different groupings. The Block Console followed, with three gleaming sculptural columns. The first pieces Lanvin produced used pristine rock crystal for their surfaces, now, after spending much time at his foundry in northern Italy, he has fallen in love with rare marble and onyx for his tabletops, spending days at the abundant quarries and stone yards in the area, personally selecting perfect, dramatically patterned slabs of Breche Violette marble, Extra White Dappled Onyx and rare Afghan Onyx. Jean-Yves has delved into lighting design as well. In addition to his early Gemini Sconce, he has created two chandeliers, the Clochette Chandelier and the Fairy Tale Chandelier. Clochette, which means “little bells” in French, is geometric in composition with right angles prevailing, but has a naturalistic feel due to the warmth of the hand finishing and alabaster “bells” that diffuse light to a soft, warm glow. The Fairy Tale Chandelier evokes visions of an enchanted forest, an aerial tree sprouting magically from above. First created as a personal project for his own home, Jean-Yves recounts that it was a technical challenge, involving 17 different molds to achieve the perfect balance of scale and form.