CAC Brétigny

Dominique Mathieu, Bistanclaque, 2009.
Brackets and pine planks, OSB and MDF panels tinted black, white honeycomb board, portholes, hanging light fixtures by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, salvaged lampshade, engraved brass plaque. Production CAC Brétigny—under the direction of Pierre Bal-Blanc.

Bistanclaque gets its name from an onomatopoetic term in French that refers to the sound made by the looms set up right in the homes of the canuts, or silk workers, of Lyon in the 19^th century. Dominique Mathieu borrowed their simple principles of construction, using cheap building materials, to produce an installation that he intended for the art center’s office. The installation is built around a central structure that encompasses the workstations, a conference space, and the storage units needed in the day-to-day work at the center. Conceived by the designer, the project also includes design elements (the wall bookshelves, the carpeting, Marteen van Severen chairs, an Achille Castiglioni coat rack, and Enzo Mari In Attesa trashcans).

Dominique Mathieu, born in 1970, is a native of Croix-Rousse in Lyon. A self-taught designer, he lives and works in Saint-Ouen. His father was one of the last canuts (traditional silk workers) still active in the 1980s. Deeply influenced by the simultaneously brutal, complex, and delicate esthetics of the machines and the beauty of the resulting silk pieces, the designer has an abiding interest in technical skills and knowhow. This has led him to work with the world of traditional crafts and be an active militant for a relocalization of the economy and production processes that respect the environment. Adopting a radical approach, the artist has turned his back on a certain way of doing design, notably that practiced by the major industries. After working for seven years with various architecture and design firms, he opened his own studio in January 2000. His output since has focused mainly on the design of furniture and objects. In 2005 he was awarded for the entire body of his work the “Grand prix de la création de la Ville de Paris” in the senior designer category. His pieces are now part of the collections of the Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC) and the Georges Pompidou Center. In 2000-2001, he was a resident of the Villa Medici in Rome. He is represented by the Salle Principale Gallery (Paris).