Bruno Schiepan
Looking for balance
MOBILE
Among all the creations of Bruno Schiepan, the mobiles are like a culmination.
Among all the creations of Bruno Schiepan, the mobiles are like a culmination.
First of all, of course, car the very definition of mobile is about balance, a fragile balance that is constantly being recomposed.
But the realization of these mobiles also represents a synthesis of all his previous creations:
- by the choice of materials used, the iconic Tulip chair by Saarinen that Bruno Schiepan reinterpreted by making each time a unique piece and which is cut here to constitute the parts of the mobiles
- by the use of color and shapes that constitute the identity of Bruno Schiepan.
Knoll Paris Showroom - Mobiles/Alibis - Wingspan 4m x Height 2.50m
“Mobile is magic.
It is like a presence that is never identical, driven by the forces of a balance that is constantly called into question.
This balance, which always seeks to recompose itself, is like a metaphor for our uncertain times."
Mobile G - Wingspan 6.50 m Height 3.50 m - Cut-out Tulip armchairs and chairs
Mobile E - Cut-out Tulip armchairs- Wingspan 3.80 x Height 2.1 m
“Stealth” mobile - Placed in front of a painting of the same spirit,
it creates like a third dimension.
Mobile S - Ps Choc cut and painted - Wingspan 3.30 mx Height 1.40 m -
Mobile T - Cut and painted Tulip armchairs - Wingspan 3 mx Height 2.3 m
Mobile D - Wingspan 4.20m x Height 2.1m
"I've always loved mobiles.
The first opportunity to create one was offered to me by Knoll France, which asked me to create an installation for the reopening of its showroom in Paris.
I had been working with Knoll for several years already on Eero Saarinen's iconic “tulip” line, which I considered both a sculpture and an ideal support for my painting. I thus realized and continue to paint the chairs, armchairs and tables of Saarinen. Each piece is unique, painted by hand, with a brush. I quite like the formula “to make the “tulip” a new flower…
For the Knoll project, I imagined that, if I were a chair, my dream would be to no longer have my feet permanently glued to the ground...
The idea was there: by cutting them up, literally tearing them into pieces, I will make the chairs and their primary function – to sit down – disappear and reinvent them in a new, useless form: the mobile."
Mobile E - Cut and painted Tulip armchairs - Wingspan 3 mx Height 2.3
Knoll Paris showroom - Mobiles/Alibis - Creation of 4 mobiles - Cut-out Tulip Saarinen armchairs.
Knoll Paris showroom - Mobiles/Alibis - Creation of 4 mobiles - Showcase - Cut-out Tulip Saarinen armchair - 3-piece mobile
Knoll Paris showroom - Mobiles/Alibis - Cut-out Saarinen Tulip armchairs - Wingspan 5.20 x Height 2.50 m
"I have great admiration for Calder's work.
In terms of mobile he is the absolute reference and it is not possible to approach the subject without thinking of him.
By venturing into its territory, my only ambition was to try to enrich it.
Cutting Saarinen's armchairs opened up a first path for me: where Calder works on flat surfaces, all my pieces are in volume.
It's not a detail. According to the angle of vision, the forms can take on (or not) a meaning.
The cutting of shapes is thus often a source of surprise (birds appear for example).
The volumes also clearly reinforce the role of light: moving shadows are created...
The volume finally opens up amazing perspectives when it comes to painting it. This is my third singularity: a real paint job which further increases the magical and spectacular side of the mobiles.
Painting makes it possible to create correspondences between pieces, to suggest unexpected perspectives, to break up shapes or create others..."
Bruno Schiepan
Mobile U - Wingspan 2.80 / Height 1.70
Studio