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Knowing materials as narratives: Savoir Matière at Objects with Narratives, Belgium
Exhibition view of Savoir Matière at the Objects with Narratives gallery in Brussels, Belgium
Image: Courtesy of Objects with Narratives
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Knowing materials as narratives: Savoir Matière at Objects with Narratives, Belgium

The group show features works by six French artists, each exploring a unique material—from stone and metal to aluminium and textiles—conceived with exceptional craftsmanship.

by Objects With Narratives
Published on : Jun 03, 2025

The Savoir Matière (Knowledge Matter) exhibition at the Objects With Narratives gallery in Brussels, Belgium, is a curated celebration of French craftsmanship, spotlighting six artists from different regions of France, whose works explore niches of materiality to evoke profound narratives. "In this unique group show, the artists explore the relationship between material, process and artistry, elevating everyday substances into objects of transcendent beauty and meaning," mentions the contemporary gallery for functional art in the show's press release.

From the careful manipulation of stone to the precision of metalwork, the innovative use of mirrors, the richness of wood and ceramics and from the transformative use of aluminium to the tactile qualities of textiles, the French artists' mastery over their singular chosen materials invites viewers to witness the alchemy of creation in the design exhibition "where material becomes art, and art becomes an embodiment of skill, tradition and passion," they continue.

Savoir Matière is thus a celebration of craftsmanship at its highest form, where every piece of collectible design expels a story of both the artists' dedication and the materials' potential. The exhibiting artists include: Cedric Breisacher, Frédéric Saulou, William Guillon, Elissa Lacoste, Kiko Lopéz and Tom Jablin.

For the group exhibition, Cedric Breisacher unveils his Intuitive Archaisme Monolith Shelf (2025) and the Intuitive Archaisme Massive Coffee Table (2023), from a "collection of furniture whose design and manufacturing process is based on the primitive instinct of assembling shapes to create a structure," as the gallery relays; the Not Wasted Side Table II (2025), where the product designer "reinvests the use of materials with what a workshop already has: waste materials," they add.

Also on show are the Arch Armchair, the Narciss Mirror and the Arch Side Table, conceived by French designer Frédéric Saulou, from his project, Domestiquer (Domesticate), handmade in France. "[It] is a project that aims to reintegrate heritage with the author’s design process, fuelled by encounters of creative and economic thought with partners and collaborators. I explore and combine the industrial and artisanal units of production in a given region in order to design a constructive, social and meaningful project," the gallery relays.

For Savoir Matière, William Guillon, a french designer and art director showcases contemporary design pieces such as the Gravity Bowls (2022) from a collection of accessories "composed of a multitude of drops which are deposited slowly until obtaining the desired effect,” as the gallery explains; the In Memoria Dining Chair (2025) and She's Lost Control (2022), part of OMNIA VANITAS ('All is vanity'), which is "a way for him to explore and experiment around themes of the emptiness of existence and the impermanence of all things,” they continue.

From the Cupid Side Table (2025) to the Sea Creature Coffee Table (2025) and the Goetite Lamp (2024), experimental designer Elissa Lacoste showcases her recent series, which draws inspiration from antique vestiges and the patterns of Roman mosaic floors, with their meticulously crafted tesserae, known as opus vermiculatum. "The pieces speak of time's layered passages—of ancient settlements overtaken by decay and nature—through the material manipulation and making process itself," the gallery shares.

Kiko Lopéz, a Puerto Rican artist based in Provence, has on display pieces such as the Bronze Oracle (2025), "a concave shell form on the wall with a 'bounce', a thermoformé piece of glass silvered behind to make it reflective like a mirror" and Chihiro (2025) inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and "the fundamental concept of the curve, a shape universally understood and yet immensely powerful."

Sculptor Tom Jablin, driven by contemplation of nature, the oceanic universe, as well as human and animal bodies, presents handmade product designs for the show including the Mound Mirror (2025), the Mound Console (2025) and the Brood Lamp (2025), made from wood hand-carved from a raw block with due regard to material and environment.

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STIR STIRpad Knowing materials as narratives: Savoir Matière at Objects with Narratives, Belgium

Knowing materials as narratives: Savoir Matière at Objects with Narratives, Belgium

The group show features works by six French artists, each exploring a unique material—from stone and metal to aluminium and textiles—conceived with exceptional craftsmanship.

by Objects With Narratives | Published on : Jun 03, 2025