Céline Salomon
Ceramic designer
April 2024
- Craft & Design
- New York
” The impressions that I gather will be used to create a new collection of objects, made in collaboration with a number of New York artisans, the holders of crafting expertise. Co-crafted in ceramics and glass, wood, paper, or leather, these objects will all reflect the ties between the animate and inanimate world, as well as our trans-Atlantic relationship and experiment. “
In my profession as a ceramic designer, I am motivated by a desire to hone everyday curiosity, and transform our perspective on things by exploring associations of textures, colors, and materials.
My creative process stems from my combined life experiences: I lived in Detroit all through middle school, then moved back to France and later worked for four years as an architect. My professional path seemed to be laid out for me, but I wanted to work at a more human scale, so I went to train in ceramics for two years in China with only a rudimentary level of Chinese as my aid. This experience transformed me and helped me define my artistic ambition.
My core aspiration is to unite architecture and nature. This aspiration comes from a vital need to engage with nature as a source of connection to the earth, but also in its more primal, sometimes-brutal state, which I explore through mountaineering. My background as an architect allows me to delve deeper into links between humanity and urbanity, the influence of forms, and the association of materials. My work straddles the border between art and design, exploring what links the two through their forms or uses, which I then transform into objects that combine ceramics with other materials in their primal states (such as brass, glass, or aluminum).
After graduating from the École d’Architecture in Versailles in 2013, Céline Salomon worked on large-scale projects at several architecture firms. In 2016, she learned to throw ceramics under the tutelage of Grégoire Scalabre and Christophe Bonnard. Wanting to take her study further, she headed off for the historic, global capital of porcelain, Jingdezhen, in China, and joined the master’s program at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. There, she met and trained with a myriad of artisans, all of them masters in their respective fields. In 2018, she took part in her first collective exhibition alongside renowned ceramicists from across the world, where she presented a ceramic tea house, composed of everyday furnishings and objects. In late 2018, after two years in China, she returned to Paris and opened her own studio. She has since participated in many events and exhibitions, notably during the Paris Design Week and PAD Paris, and several fairs abroad, such as Design Miami Basel, Le Salon in New York, and London Craft Week.
Steered by my desire to delve ever deeper into the relationships between architecture and nature, the first part of my trip will involve an immersion in the city. I must explore the territory, steeping myself in this environment, this unique, multicultural melting pot, on a whole new scale for me.
One characteristic of New York that particularly inspires me is its typically American gridiron plan, all portioned out in blocks. This plan creates powerful perspectives for architecture, but requires that the often-constrained natural elements fit into the grid, which alternates between high-rises and parks. How does the living world—both humans and wildlife—evolve in this restricted, orthonormal environment? When we build cities first and green spots afterwards, what place is actually left to the latter?
Such over-densification also leads to a conquest of the sky, causing an exceptional concentration of skyscrapers, which themselves allow for an incredibly rich dialog of materials (between earth and metal, or glass and brick), textures, and colors. Where is the balancing point between fusion on the one hand and juxtaposition on the other; between natural and artificial?
The impressions that I gather will be used to create a new collection of objects, made in collaboration with a number of New York artisans, the holders of crafting expertise. Co-crafted in ceramics and glass, wood, paper, or leather, these objects will all reflect the ties between the animate and inanimate world, as well as our trans-Atlantic relationship and experiment.
I will complete my residency in New York – a choice inspired by my discovery that the city’s parks are intimately linked to its sociological and architectural history. When the outside world began arriving at the gates of New York in the early 20th century, its destiny was changed forever. As diverse cultures have moved to the city and enriched it, the evolving relationships between parks, buildings, and residents have attested to the profound changes that have occurred there.
By virtue of its five boroughs, parks, both iconic (Central Park) and more discreet (Gramercy Park…), New York is the ideal testing ground for this project of research and inspiration. Based in Industry City, and supported by the teams at Wanted Design, I will meet Brooklyn-based craftspeople in an aim to bring my ceramics techniques up against other forms of local expertise. Brooklyn, the historic haven of builders and doers, is now also a cradle of many makers. I want to find out what kind of dialog will be born and shaped from our crafting acts.
Lastly, my time in New York will be a chance to discover a new art scene and to find a business partner to develop and grow my activity in the United States. By exploring the location and receiving support from the teams at Villa Albertine and Wanted Design, I will be able to get a grasp of the key challenges and players involved in this discipline in New York.
In partnership with
Trampoline
Trampoline est un propulseur de talents. Depuis 5 ans, notre mission est d’accompagner des artistes et designers dans leur développement global : positionnement, développement commercial, image, communication, stratégie personnelle. Nous collaborons aussi quotidiennement avec des architectes et décorateurs d’intérieur pour placer nos talents.
WantedDesign
Créée en 2011, WantedDesign est une plateforme dédiée à la promotion du design et à l’encouragement de la communauté créative aux Etats-Unis et à l’internationale, à travers l’organisation d’évènements, de discussions et de partenariats. Elle organise chaque année le salon WantedDesign Manhattan, au cœur de la New York Design Week aux côtés de la foire ICFF. WantedDesign est accueilli depuis 2014 par Industry City. Ils se sont associés pour lancer un nouveau programme de résidences de design au cœur de ce qui est devenu le hub de design le plus créatif, dynamique et diversifié de New York. Avec les conseils de l’équipe de WantedDesign et la création d’un espace de travail sur le campus d’Industry City, le programme de résidences internationales Industry City + WantedDesign offre aux résidents internationaux une chance de s’immerger dans cette communauté créative pour construire leur réseau, s’inspirer de la ville de New York, et nourrir et préparer de nouveaux projets.
Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
La Fondation Bettencourt Schueller s’applique à incarner la volonté d’une famille, animée par l’esprit d’entreprendre et la conscience de son rôle social, de révéler les talents et de les aider à aller plus loin, dans trois domaines qui contribuent concrètement au bien commun : les sciences de la vie, les arts et la solidarité. À la fois fondation familiale et reconnue d’utilité publique depuis sa création, en 1987, la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller entend « donner des ailes aux talents » pour contribuer à la réussite et à l’influence de la France. Pour cela, elle recherche, choisit, soutient, accompagne et valorise des femmes et des hommes qui imaginent aujourd’hui le monde de demain, dans trois domaines qui contribuent concrètement au bien commun : les sciences de la vie, les arts et la solidarité.