Lionel Jadot, Rolling Throne, BE, 2019

Lionel Jadot, Rolling Throne, BE, 2019
Free

 Jadot describes his magnificent assemblage chair, embellished with 24ct gold and hardware elements, as “an enlightened assembly made with disparate elements, a game of collisions.” The pieces of raw wood are taken from a redwood root seat, recovered in a Belgian forest, while the cushions are fashioned from vintage textiles from mountain villages in Turkey, feathers, and industrial tarpaulin.  An Olivetti reading lamp from 1970s is fastened to the back of the chair, operated by a switch positioned on the right arm. Resting on heavy duty industrial casters, every angle the chair has been thoughtfully considered to spark surprise.

While not easily categorized by a singular style, Jadot’s work could most easily be recognized by his affinity for repurposed materials and his deft eye at creating harmony and balance out of the collision of disparate elements. With the vision and confidence to experiment and evolve, Jadot has made a practice of skirting tradition by mixing genres, inspirations, and materials to achieve his iconoclastic vision. Key to his work process is a strong belief in craftsmanship and integrity in terms of behavior and approach.

The principle of reclamation has been relevant to Jadot from a young age. As a child in his father’s workshop, Jadot developed a keen attraction and respect for materials, coveting the bits of scrap wood and leather that would accumulate around the floor and had been deemed “fair game.” Today this manifests as both a philosophical and aesthetic tenet to his work. Manipulating materials that have been salvaged permeates the works with a sense of character, history, and humanity.

Working from a near photographic mental library of materials and influences, he is at once artist, tinkerer, and inventor. He explains, “What interests me is ideas passing though memory, and the influences mixing. Culture meeting subculture, mixing genre – from memory. I filled notebooks of ideas and with this approach I decided to achieve all that was in my notebooks. It is an exciting job; it’s more an expression, free of any constraints. But it is also a free reflection on design and art, and this fragile border that I love to cross in both directions.”

redwood, mixed textiles, tarpaulin, electrical parts, vintage lamp, 24ct gold
59h x 47w x 47d in
149.86h x 119.38w x 119.38d cm

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