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Pierre-François Augelet : Transparent Art

Photo du rédacteur: Bureau Irina BokovaBureau Irina Bokova

Dernière mise à jour : 27 déc. 2024

For over 20 years, Pierre-François has been working with glass, intimately familiar with its labor-intensive, meticulous, yet inspiring process.



Once a philosophy student, Pierre-François found his life's calling through a fortuitous series of encounters that, in 1992, led him to collaborate with the space agency Arianespace. Together with a friend who was an architect, Pierre-François crafted victory trophies in the shape of a rocket's trail for satellite launch competitions.


The most challenging task was to engrave the rocket's smoke from metal – a technical difficulty that marked the beginning of the master's story.


The partnership evolved into collaboration within a small glass studio, which gradually expanded, eventually becoming a successful company specializing in unique interior decorations and sculptures.


Speaking of his atelier, Pierre-François is modest, emphasizing that he is more of a manager than a craftsman now: the times of working with his hands day and night are long behind him. "Moreover, I'm not an artist since I don't create anything until I receive an order," Pierre-François insists, "and I don't consider myself a well-known master."


However, within his circle, the atelier has earned a solid reputation: its fame spreads through architects and by word of mouth among the elite. In Russia, the exclusive representative of Au Gre du Verre is the Bureau of Irina Bokova.







But engraving is far from the only task faced by the atelier. The work on major projects can generally be divided into five stages, each with its own complexities and responsibilities: measurements, glass ordering, engraving, transportation, and installation.


Challenges begin as early as the interaction with factories: glass workshops often encounter issues like glass arriving cracked, scratched, or even in the wrong size.

At Au Gre du Verre, this process has been perfected: "I have extensive experience and work with factories that are as detail-oriented as we are. Getting to know the factory owners is crucial in this industry: I can always make a call, kindly request a personal inspection, and rest assured about the quality," says Pierre-François.


Another problematic aspect is the transportation of glass. "I strive for perfection in everything I do, so the most challenging part for me is when things are out of our control," admits Pierre-François, "Therefore, transportation is the only aspect that, in my view, is still not perfect."


This task is further complicated by the fact that, unlike many other ateliers, Au Gre du Verre takes full responsibility for all stages of the project in front of the client: "Once, during the installation of round glasses in Tashkent, the workers broke one. There was nothing to do but redo everything at our own expense."



"I Strive for Perfection"

In a year, Au Gre du Verre executes a vast number of small projects, like bespoke shower doors, and about eight very large individual projects. Even the standard orders, in Pierre-François's view, demand a personalized approach, and thus, inspiration.


For Pierre-François, the wild has always been a wellspring of inspiration: "I kayak, I climb mountains - and I never stop observing nature, always noting something for myself and my work. I delight in watching the patterns left by water streams after the tide. Such reflections! For me, a Parisian, this breath of fresh air is essential."


For Pierre Yovanovitch in New York, Au Gre du Verre crafted a large convex curved door that resonated with the maritime theme: "At its center is a droplet, with circles radiating outwards like ripples in water. To achieve this effect, we drew circles on the glass with sand, akin to patterns on a beach."


"As a Parisian, I simply need a breath of fresh air."

The work's specificity and the professional level of the atelier secure Pierre-François clients as significant as Lalique: Au Gre du Verre aided them in a project related to the restoration of trains in Russia. "The idea was to restore the original style to the carriages. We worked on large panels: creating huge molds into which the glass was poured, and to these panels, Lalique's crafted flowers were attached. They don't have molds of such sizes, so they turned to us."


One of the first collage projects for Au Gre du Verre was a Chanel pop-up boutique in Saint-Tropez. The company rented a private historic house where no alterations could be made – not even drilling a hole in the wall. Pierre-François designed glass arches for them, made using collage techniques with special transparent glue, through which the boutique displayed clothing.





"They had a specific plan in mind but didn't know how to implement it," Pierre-François explains, "I acted as the engineer: I had to know the required strength of the glass, its necessary width, and how to properly glue it together."



One only needs to glance at Pierre-François Ogle's works to understand – he is not only a professional but a true magician, creating art pieces from the most fragile and, essentially, almost invisible material.



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