Etienne Marc & Dorian Renard: RECEPTION ROOM

23 February - 24 March 2023
Overview

On February 23 at 6 p.m. we begin the international exhibition cycle of contemporary collectible design with the exhibition Reception Room by two French designers Etienne Marc and Dorian Renard

Dorian Renard and Etienne Marc with identical backgrounds as designers present within Galerija Vartai a collection of domestic objects whose functional and prosaic nature is sublimated by a sculptural approach.


Fascinated by traditional techniques, the two creators are perverting the inherent codes of object design by an uninhibited manipulation of the material, where plastic becomes glass, where mirrors are stained with an irreverent gesture. The corpus of pieces proposed are frozen liquid and vegetal figures, polymer in a transitory state, collages, a phantasm of a domestic space where objects are exhibited and erected. Plastic, white gold leaf, glass and fiberglass, oak and galipot, all these materials are merged in the artists' gesture without hierarchization.


Etienne Marc's work results from a peregrination between different workshops, wild harvest of plants, compulsive purchases of minerals and a fascination for curious objects.


Dorian Renard explores the materiality of plastic, worked as an extremely precious material, mixed oak, ceramics and bronze along with Studio Job.


The two approaches meet in a solitary reception room. The encountered bodies are objects frozen in a transitory state, challenging this sense of expectation in which functional objects are inanimate and passive, quietly waiting for the user to narrate their own story.

Etienne Marc is a French designer craftsman currently based in Marseille. He studied product design in Reims and contextual design at the Design Academy Eindhoven where he started to develop a hands-on practice and a deep interest in materials and their mediated meanings, using design as a tool to champion a space for enjoyment through symbolism. His furniture pieces are vegetal transformations, sculptures frozen in transitory states, and contemporary echoes of mythological metamorphoses.

 

Dorian Renard is a French designer based in Marseille. In 2019 he graduated with an MA from the Contextual Design Department of the Design Academy Eindhoven. He has created a practice that oscillates between a fascination for materials and their mediated meanings. Through a sculptural and experimental approach, Dorian’s work challenges our perception of materiality in a sensitive yet conscious way. Driven by an exploration of the subversive use of crafting techniques, he has developed a distinct language that bears the signs of being shaped by human hands.

 

Patron: Renata and Rolandas Valiūnas

Gallery supported by: Vilnius city municipality, Lietuvos Rytas, Vilma Dagilienė, Roma Puišienė, Rasa Juodviršienė, Romas Kinka, Ekskomisarų biuras, MailerLite, Plieno Spektras, Baltic Amadeus, Bioderma, Institut Francais

Graphic design: Taktika Studio

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