On the occasion of the JB Blunk, Continuum exhibition, the Fondation d’entreprise Martell and the JB Blunk Estate have partnered with WE DO NOT WORK ALONE, a publishing house for functional objects designed by artists, to produce an exclusive edition of a sauce pitcher based on an original piece by JB Blunk from 1975, currently on display at the Foundation. This pitcher was selected by Mariah Nielson, JB Blunk’s daughter, as a representative piece of her father’s work. It illustrates JB Blunk’s relationship to craftsmanship and his absolute commitment to making everyday objects designed for his own use.

This reinterpretation (limited edition of 150 pieces), created by Strasbourg ceramicist Sophie Irwin, will be exclusively available for purchase exclusively at the Fondation Martell in Cognac, the Blunk Shop in Paris, and online at www.wedonotworkalone.fr and www.jbblunk.com. (Price: 150 euros) as of September 7th.

The catalogue of the exhibition will be available and for sale as of October.

The Blunk Shop, 58 rue du Vertbois, 75003 Paris

WE DO NOT WORK ALONE welcomes the Blunk Shop, a unique presentation of editions from the JB Blunk estate, featuring the Blunk Pitcher alongside a selection of objects by Martino Gamper, guest designer and scenographer of the exhibition at the Fondation Martell.

Practical Information:

From September 7 to October 20, 2024:
Tuesday – Friday: 12 pm – 6 pm
Saturday: 2 pm – 6 pm

For more information: 06 74 83 01 29

About WE DO NOT WORK ALONE

WE DO NOT WORK ALONE was created in Paris in 2016 by Louise Grislain, Anna Klossowski, and Charlotte Morel.

The company produces, in limited series, everyday objects designed by artists. It offers artists a departure from their usual practice by confronting them with the question of functionality and use. Based on artisanal or industrial know-how, these everyday objects are produced on a case-by-case basis, according to methods defined in collaboration with the artist. The project attempts to bring a fresh answer to the long-lasting question of the links between art and everyday life. Its name is also the title of a collection of thoughts on artistic creation by Japanese potter Kawai Kanjiro.

MATHILDE PELLE  INVITES ARNE HENDRIKS AND ERNESTO OROZA

As part of Paris Design Week and in conjunction with the “Chemin Creux” (Hollow Way) exhibition, the Martell Foundation presents a conversation between designer Mathilde Pellé and designers Arne Hendriks and Ernesto Oroza around the central question underlying her approach: “why is there something rather than less?”

Approached as a direction to be probed, the concept of “less” allows us to reconsider our material environments and authorises a critique of the dominant models that are curiously  both producers of exhaustion and saturation.

In contrast to the prevailing trend in Western societies to always seek to generate “more”, this exchange invites us to take examine the approaches of designers at the forefront of design thinking: whether it be outlining hypotheses of reduction in the size of the human species (Hendriks), considering technical reappropriations and forms of technological disobedience in a frugal economy (Oroza), or even considering the resource at the heart of ruin (Pellé).

These approaches, bridging anthropology and design, open up new ways of considering our practices and our relationship to material needs, and imagine paths for the reformulation of a common equilibrium.

Mathilde Pelle, Designer and independent researcher
Arne Hendriks, Artist, art researcher & art historian
Ernesto Oroza, Artist, designer, researcher & professor – École Supérieure d’Art et Design de Saint-Étienne

Monday, September 9, 2024 from 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Espace Commines, 17 rue Commines à Paris 75003

The Foundation is delighted to support the Agora du Design as it participates in Milan Design Week from April 15 to 21, 2024, where the projects of the 2021 laureates will be presented. This exhibition, held at BASE, an artistic research center, offers international visibility to designers Marine Rouit-Leduc, Hors-Studio, Emma Pflieger, and Antoine Fœglé.

In 2024, the Foundation announced a new biennial partnership with the Agora du Design, committing to host the winners of the 2023 and 2025 research grants in design and curation awarded by the Agora Prize, in residency. Thanks to the support of the Pernod Ricard Group, the Foundation also annually supports the presentation of the laureates’ work during a highlight of the international design scene.

Exhibition of the laureates from April 15 to 21, 2024, at BASE, Milan
Opening reception on April 15 at 5 p.m.