Pierre Bonnefille, an invitation to contemplation

Pierre Bonnefille is a lover of nature, and each of his creations pays tribute to it. As an artist and master of art, he becomes a poet when he creates works inspired by his contemplations. For Paris Design Week, the Guimet Museum invited him to exhibit his furniture and paintings in one of its little-known wings: the Hôtel d'Heidelbach, located on Avenue d'Iéna, just a few meters from the National Museum of Asian Arts. Twenty years ago, Pierre Bonnefille was a latecomer to Asia, and this culture immediately resonated with his sensibility. "I go back there two or three times a year to work on projects but also to feed my inspiration, I sometimes stay there for several weeks," he says. The Hôtel d'Heidelbach, which exhibits Chinese screens in Coromandel lacquer in its classical salons and has a Japanese garden with its Tea Pavilion, was the ideal place to practice a fertile confrontation between classical architecture, modern art, and Asian memories. Pierre Bonnefille will take over a salon lined with 18th-century woodwork with a "Meditation Room", an immersive circular installation composed of ten large paintings measuring three meters by one and a half meters, created especially for the occasion.

The "Bronze paintings" are covered with "Moon gold", a white gold evoking the reflections of the moon on the sea, the gesture reproducing the vibrations of water. They will be lit with a calm and cold light like a serene night. "Visitors are invited to wander inside and let themselves be transported into an intimate space for a time of mindfulness meditation" explains Pierre Bonnefille.

Throughout the rooms, the designer will show paintings from the "Furoshiki" series, this time evoking the ancestral art with which the Japanese wrap their presents in knotted fabrics. He is fascinated by the gracefulness of the gestures and reproduces the skillful two-dimensional folding on his monochrome canvases with their silky sheen. Pierre Bonnefille composes the textures himself, using mineral dust, limestone, marble, earth, natural pigments, and metallic powders. He will also exhibit new furniture, consoles, bookcases, coffee tables, and stools. His Metamorphosis series aims to reinvent elements of nature from the contemplation of pebbles, mosses, and rocks, the surface of the furniture reproduces the phenomena of crystallization and mineralization using powder and copper plates. The Rhizome models echo the meandering woody roots of bamboo. "I find parallels in these materials and colors with the textures I saw in Asia. See you in September to witness this silent dialogue.

www.pierrebonnefille.com