Each week, Kristen de La Vallière, design curator, editor and founder of say hi to_, asks three questions to our participants. Today Kristen talks with Emily Marant and Hugo Matha, co-founders of the editor and nomadic gallery French Cliché.

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Kristen de la Vallière: 2020-2021 has been full of changes for the contemporary art and furniture industry. We often focus on the negatives of those, but we think it could be a very exciting time to see all of the positive changes it may have brought about. What do you think the future of collecting and exhibitions looks like?

Emily Marant & Hugo Matha: For French Cliché, the crisis hit as we were about to launch our project. We had to step back and this it gave us time to develop a more ambitious project. Not being able to show our pieces has led us to think about how we could translate physical emotion into something digital. Creating content about how we produce and collaborate is what makes our objects different from others and this has become a focus. We want to take collectors on our journey. When it comes to encounters, we are building more intimate relationships. Collectors, are happy to spend more time discovering the art work and the artists, and for us, this is essential as we introduce emerging talents to functional art.

“Collecting functional art is about having fun, thinking out of the box, supporting an aesthetic, an artist, a small production, acquiring something that is rare.”

KdlV: What advice would you give to those looking to start their functional art collection?

EM&HM: Functional art opens new perspective in a home, affirming a certain originality, breaking the lines of conventional design. Collecting functional art is about having fun, thinking out of the box, supporting an aesthetic, an artist, a small production, acquiring something that is rare. The artistic twist brings a spark and an emotional connection to objects.

KdlV: How are events like COLLECTIBLE important for functional artists, galleries and collectors?

EM&HM: This past year has been a great time to reset and think about our future both as individuals and collectively. At a certain point, the work produced needs to be shown to the world and challenged. Creating dialogue between artists, galleries and collectors, confronting objects and visions is a way to grow and build a strong reflection. At French Cliché, we see this moment as essential, comparable to the end of the year show at school. We can’t wait to bring to the world our newest objects.

About French Cliché

Founded in 2020 by Emily Marant and Hugo Matha, the editor and nomadic gallery French Cliché seeks out unique crafts to provide new solutions and techniques to young creatives, bringing a fresh perspective upon  ancient knowledge. These encounters produce unique pieces, in addition to numbered and signed limited edition objects.