Dorian Étienne

Multimedia sculptor

©Dorian Etienne

©Marion Quillien

©Charlotte Bagot

©Dorian Etienne

The itinerant creator

Dorian’s approach is deeply respectful of the environment and humans
Experimentation is at the heart of his work
He defines himself as a travelling designer-craftsman

Dorian Étienne is a multifaceted craftsman based in France. Following a degree in object design at the Boulle school, he turned to craftsmanship during a residency at the National Institute of Crafts in Taiwan. “I went to find what I was missing: creating with my hands and not “just” designing things theoretically. Experiencing techniques and materials gives me a real advantage, that of thinking about “achievable” designs, rather than utopian ones.” Settling in near or distant territories for the duration of a project, Dorian observes cultures and histories, techniques and materials and is inspired by the richness of the world's cultural heritages. His pieces express his respect for humans and the environment and reveal his mastery of the various techniques he masters such as burned wood (shou sugi ban), tufting, bamboo work, natural lacquer, suminagashi, plant dyes, and many others.

Interview

©Anna Click

©Dorian Etienne

Why did you choose your craft?: My work allows me to bring together dissociated and sometimes dissonant elements (cultures, materials, techniques) to create something new with my hands. It also enables me to gather people around a common project and to welcome something in my life that makes me vibrate: travelling.
Why is the concept of land so important in your work?: Different lands help me work on my openness and my imagination. What is fascinating when I travel, when I am the outsider, is that my 'strangeness' makes me focus on differences, habits, details that are mundane to the locals. This acts as a 'breeding ground for the imagination' and allows ideas to germinate spontaneously.
What was the first object you made?: Orikawa, a deployable and multifaceted bag inspired by origami and combining the know-how of leather goods with that of cabinetmaking: the oak veneer of the bag made a rigid structure on the leather to enhance the folds.
What is a memorable moment in your working life?: Seeing the emotion in the eyes of the group of local participants that I trained and accompanied throughout the making of our common project, on the night when we revealed the tapestry. It was a mixture of sadness because the workshop was ending, and pride from having been part of this project highlighting their land and its issues.

Dorian Étienne is a rising star: he began his career in 2018 and he started teaching in 2020