A second life for discarded glass
- Valérie makes her colourful lighting sculptures from recycled materials
- Her passion for repurposing comes from her childhood
- She gives discarded glass a new life in her pieces
A lighting technician and director, as well as a decorative painter, Valérie Menuet joined the artistic space Le Lieu-dit in Nantes in 2000. Here, she developed her experimental design work and almost two decades later, opened her own studio. In her work, she repurposes discarded objects, primarily glass, to make visually striking high-quality LED lighting and lamps. Valérie approaches each piece like a sculptural composition, seeking contrast and variation of forms to achieve a coherent geometrical whole. Her main inspirations include artistic and design movements, like modernism, Russian constructivism, early industrial era aesthetics, brutalist architecture, Bauhaus, and the Memphis movement, as well as the work of artists Nathalie du Pasquier and Ingo Maurer.
Interview
- How has your upbringing influenced your artistic journey?
- Our family retreat, a wooden cabin my father built, became a space of total reverie. It was powered by a homemade wind turbine, and with my father and sisters, we constructed everything inside using hand tools. The cabin was a haven for freedom and artistic creation, influencing my imagination profoundly.
- How do you integrate reuse and recycling in your work?
- The first step in my work is to source discarded objects, primarily glass, from thrift stores. I select pieces based on their unique shapes, geometry, colour, transparency, or opacity. Objects lose their original names and functions upon entering my studio, becoming elements for artistic repurposing.
- How do you transform discarded objects into luminous artworks?
- A discarded crystal ashtray may become part of a new wall lamp, for instance. Light is a crucial consideration and I exclusively use high-quality LED lighting. I play with the retroprojection of light in the crystal fragments, creating an amplified image on the wall or ceiling.
- How do you ensure visual coherence and impact in your creations?
- I compose each piece like a sculpture. The finishing touches involve wooden bases, sometimes gilded with gold or silver leaf, and fluorescent plexiglass for a vibrant visual dynamic. I choose coloured textile electrical wires that complement each piece. The luminous objects must be visually appealing when both lit and unlit.
Valérie Menuet is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2000
Where
Valérie Menuet
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