Carpenters Workshop Gallery showcases Martin Laforet's intriguing aesthetic

Carpenters Workshop Gallery, in their recent show marking the 23rd edition of PAD Paris, brought to life the works of French designer Martin Laforet who developed his characteristic design vocabulary drawing inspiration from architecture and artificial landscapes such as parking lots, highways and engineering structures. The gallery displayed mostly unpublished furniture pieces in its show that was open to the public early April, which aptly embodied the artist's philosophy of "nice proportions and minimum waste." The refined compositions of mediocre materials like concrete or formwork wood display the concepts of Arte Povera, an Italian movement from the 1960s. “The goal was to create a kind of concrete landscape with the work, besides the work itself, the concrete floor and the very rigid display of the pieces helped me to achieve what I was looking for,” shares Laforet.

Laforet, through his process of creation, re-establishes the immediacy of the material which becomes art itself rather than being an element that needs hiding, consequently channeling an approach of unveiling construction. His series ‘The Mould objects’ is a manifestation of his attachment to workshop work and moulding techniques. It is a balanced assembly between raw materials - concrete or bronze - that are integrated with the mould that enhances the work along with providing structure and holding. He brings the mould out of the workshop and exposes the relation it has with its cast. "My work is an attempt to bring out the specific personality of the materials and to produce original forms. I am looking for a personal expression often inspired by my current interest in shapes and material combinations," shares the designer.

“There are many different techniques you can use with concrete, and this is also a reason why I love this material,” explains Laforet. The exploration and utilisation of concrete is majorly evident in his designs. His "Palaver Chair", an epitome of African tradition and prestige, is crafted in bare concrete in lieu of the usual wood carving. The masterful form grants the rather crude material a new nobility. The same approach is reinforced with his new ‘Highway’ series, from which the concrete coffee table was presented to the public for the first time at PAD Paris 2022. “An environnement almost exclusively made of concrete expresses the deep human desire of control over its environment,” says Laforet while expressing his admiration for concrete as a material. “My current work is an attempt to define this particular feeling I find in such spaces and translate it into objects,” he adds.

Martin Laforet’s work delves into the relationships between materials like casted aluminium, bronze, ceramics, wood, concrete and many more. The artist's "Variations" series of low chairs, another attempt to explore the materiality of concrete, exhibits a standardised concrete base and the artist’s instinctive variations in elements and casting techniques in chairs otherwise built from the same mould. “Concrete is a mix of cement sand and rocks, I can change the proportions of these elements depending if I am looking for a smooth or a rough concrete,” explains Laforet. “I can also use additives, fibres or pigment, every recipe will require a particular technique,” he continues.

Marin Laforet built a concrete landscape with his work, an original scenography that adorned the Carpenters Workshop Gallery. He views design as a greater whole that he continually deconstructs. The material and the creative process are laid bare for the eyes of the observers. His distinctive language of exposing the nature of materiality without alteration in a refined assembly evokes a warm and sensitive atmosphere. The designs flaunting the intermingling of the past and the future, might initially be objects of bewilderment, but do not fail to arouse interpretation through meditation.