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A LESSON IN DESIGN WITH ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
A designer known for her deconstructed and edgy take on elegance, former member of the Antwerp Six, Ann Demeulemeester is turning her hand to ceramics with a stunning new collaboration with famed Belgian design house Serax. Find out more about what drew her to ceramics, her design influences and practices…
What do you think is unique about your practice?
“I follow my heart, emotions and my own aesthetic values. I believe that good creations are always unique.” Demeulemeester continues with a tone of self-assurance and humility: “Over 30 years, this has resulted in an Ann Demeulemeester style.”
I only want to add to the world what is not already there, things that without me would never have been seen.
How would you describe the Belgian or Flemish sensibility to design?
In describing both her own and the Serax design house’s native style Demeulemeester proclaims “We are The Nord! I think there is a certain seriousness about us, a feeling of responsibility.” In relation to the aesthetic origin she explains “The northern light is unique and that can be felt in the paintings of dutch and flemish masters, this is part of our education and origins.”
How would you describe your signature style?
“An intriguing mix, pure and sophisticated.” It is easy to understand how she has developed a sister-like friendship with songwriter Patti Smith as she adds lyrically, “The contrast between light and shadow, sensitive and strong, a tension that is poetic.”
I worked always with the dimensional. To me, there is no difference in creating a jacket or sculpting a shoelace or designing a plate. Fabric and clay are just tools to express a language.
How does architecture influence your design?
“I believe that the environment in which you live influences you, both emotionally and aesthetically.” In reference to a home she previously shared with her husband, collaborator and photographer Patrick Robyn, designed by the legendary modernist architect Le Corbusier, Demeulemeester remarks, “In that house, I learned about light, proportions and respect for pure lines.”
What drew you to want to collaborate with Serax?
"Their enthusiasm, energy and respect towards me. The will to develop perfectly my ideas. I love sculpture and I also love to create and make things.” Elaborating, Demeulemeester adds, “I did several masterclasses with different teachers in France and England and visited factories in Germany and France to learn traditional techniques.” She goes on to say that for research purposes, she also travelled to “France and Tokyo to ceramic museums and worked for six years in my own atelier at home, testing, learning and creating. About her husband, she concludes, “We are ‘makers’, we make what we need at home."
ANN’S FIVE STEP DESIGN PROCESS
- 1. First comes an idea, a feeling, a wish, a question.
- 2. Then a study, an answer.
- 3. Next a perfect drawing.
- 4. Followed by creating the 3-dimensional shape.
- 5. Finally considering material, colour and decoration.
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