The Contemporary Art Center of the Matmut – Daniel Havis is dedicating, for the first time, an exhibition devoted to design by inviting the artist and designer Bina Baitel. In her work, design, art and architecture intertwine to give life to unique objects.
“Most of my pieces invite new experiences, whether they manifest themselves through touch, movement, sight or reflection. They invite the public to interact rather than remain in a simple position of observation.”
Whether it is furniture, clocks, lighting fixtures or small everyday objects, Bina Baitel’s creations all bear a recognizable signature: attention paid to details, a curiosity for materials and a desire to renew the usual use of the object. The designer plays with materials, volumes and visual effects to create pieces that surprise at first glance. For example, the tactile and interactive lamp Fur Light reacts to the caress of a hand, or the lamp Grimm is composed of a “flow of mirror.” These “collection” objects lead us to look differently at what we thought we knew. What seemed ordinary then becomes more amusing, more alive, sometimes even a little unsettling, but always with lightness.
The exhibition path brings together emblematic pieces of an approach developed for nearly 20 years. One discovers works from her beginnings, such as the retractable lamp Pull Over, which already shows her way of playing with uses, but also more recent creations, specially designed for the exhibition. This selection makes it possible to understand how her style has asserted itself, while remaining faithful to her initial desire: to transform familiar objects to make them more surprising, more amusing and closer to the public.
Who is Bina Baitel?
Bina Baitel, DPLG architect graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris La Villette, founded her design and architecture studio in 2OO6. Since 2OO8, her work has been rewarded on numerous occasions, notably by the VIA then the French Design, as well as by the Grand Prix de la Création of the City of Paris in 2O12. She has signed several major projects, among which the inflatable Wishing Fountain presented in 2O22 in the courtyard of the Monnaie de Paris and the Monument of the Champions of Paris 2O24, established on the Pont Saint-Louis in 2O26. Her creations are regularly exhibited in international museums and fairs (Milan, Dubai, Paris, New York, Venice, Basel…) and are today integrated into several public and private permanent collections.
