in Brittany, the wave of recovery among artists – L’Express

For several years now, design and recovery have gone hand in hand among artists and major decoration brands, who are riding this sustainable wave. It’s economical, eco-friendly, in line with the questions of purchasing power and global warming that are stirring the times. On the Emerald Coast, in Brittany, the trend is taking a lasting hold in the landscape. Christophe Ballan, a former traveling helicopter pilot converted into a talent scout, brings together some of them in the heart of the Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer peninsula, in his Galerie des Marins, a former garage and an adjoining café which he transformed into an exhibition space and artists’ residence. The place, designed as a maritime trading post, is highlighted by the colorful fresco by urban calligrapher SG Goom, which covers a neighboring facade. A fan of “nothing is lost, everything is transformed”, the Rennes graffiti artist is right on the mark of the journey orchestrated by the gallery owner, aptly titled Déc’Art’Boné (until December 31).

Five creators from the peninsula present objects and furniture diverted from their original use. Anne-Sophie Beaupied collects oars, fenders, buoys or old local cabinets to transform them into table tops and pendant lights populated with “Louisette”, as she named it, in a nod to a tall grandmother in color, its “punk-leaning” fish and its “humanized” gallinaceans, not far from the surrealist heritage and free figuration.

The visual artist shares her Jaguen workshop with Pauline Chalaux, a former competitive sailmaker trained in sewing in a saddlery in Concarneau, who took over, four years ago, the original activity launched by Anne Drouin-Lebreton in 2006. Under the Pauline ADL name, it recycles discarded boat sails, sometimes from illustrious racing rigs, donated by skippers or nautical clubs, to create armchairs, deckchairs, ramps, baskets, lighting… Only unique pieces, with different texture and use depending on the function and condition of the original material. We discover in particular his lamps, like the Liloucylinders to place anywhere, and model Abysscreated in collaboration with his partner Anne-Sophie, whose lampshade with patterns traced in ink and pencil rests on driftwood found on the beach.

Nino Gioia’s creations also invite distant horizons. This Italian percussionist, who traveled the planet alongside Manu Dibango, dropped anchor in Saint-Cast, a stone’s throw from Saint-Jacut, around ten years ago. Having become a cabinetmaker, he creates and adjusts instruments with Afro-Caribbean sounds, like these wooden drums which look like small side consoles, with the added surprise of sound. Designer of “nomadic furniture”, he tailor-made starfish-shaped seats and small coffee tables whose support evokes a boat hull.

The latter are painted by Shania Ballan, a young artist whose flamboyant palette follows the rhythm of the tides and the seasons. A marine graphic deployed in three dimensions on Nino Gioia’s furniture, which is available in a foldable-unfoldable version, taking on the appearance of a painting once hung on the wall. Finally, the last thief of the gang, Arnaud Mercier, also a cabinetmaker, is an ace in recovery. He mixes essences, disassembles with one hand, reassembles with the other. The cabinets become benches, the stools are born from the arranged marriage of bed wood and table tops. A crossing full of fresh sea air.