Ronan Bouroullec book merges art, design and everyday life
‘Ronan Bouroullec: Day After Day’, from Phaidon, is a visual inventory of the French designer’s work, artistic output and daily inspiration
Ronan Bouroullec's rich visual world is now part of a new book, published by Phaidon and featuring a series of photographs by the designer, looking at his everyday inspiration, domestic moments, studio work and more.
‘Ronan Bouroullec: Day After Day’, published by Phaidon
‘I take photographs daily, on a mobile phone, of my drawings, my works, the light in the studio, an object that we designed several years ago spotted in a shop window, our chairs on the terrace of a café, the morning sun on a ceramic vase,' Bouroullec writes in the book's foreword.
More than 450 pages are dedicated to an Instagram-like, chronological curation that offers readers a glimpse into his world. Bouroullec's popular artwork features heavily across the pages, as do the designs he created with his brother Erwan for brands like Hay, Koyori, Vitra, Artek and more.
'I don't have a defined work method; I work instinctively, by successive strokes. I like to repeat, start over, accumulate, to work simultaneously on several subjects. I like to bring models of current projects back from the studio, place them on my table and study them, searching for the right impression,' adds Bouroullec. 'In this permanent state of flow, where improvisation is part of research, it is through a sketch or a makeshift rendering in cardboard that the solutions suddenly appear.'
Earlier in 2023, Bouroullec launched a new collection with Kvadrat, featuring textiles inspired by his artwork, and a ceramic lamp for Flos that pushed the limits of the lighting company. His considered approach to aesthetics and form was also at the heart of the Saint-Michel de Brasparts Chapel restoration, for which he created sacred furniture that elevated the bare space.
'I also draw all the time, everywhere. On the train, at night, in the morning, on a boat, on the corner of a table, in a park, at a café, at home,' he continues. 'Drawing without constraint, without aim, without premeditation, free from the pressure to solve anything. Drawing for its own sake.'
Featuring regular strokes of colour that form abstract shapes, his drawings have since gathered a huge following, with dedicated exhibitions and editions of the ever-growing art series.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Everyday life gets squeezed across the book as well: arranged in a grid, each page features a mix of objects, drawings, environments and glimpses of Bouroullec's home or studio. His desk by the sea, a maquette from a project, files on shelves, and his designs captured in informal spaces.
'I began posting daily images of my research, documenting my doubts, the joy of certain projects, and sometimes also their dead ends. Colourful impressions, blossoming shapes, perfect moments, emotions. It became a journal,' explains Bouroullec of his debut on the social grid. 'This book, which contains images of my own research as well as work carried out in collaboration with my brother Erwan and the wonderful team around us, follows the thread of these photographs as they were posted, day after day,' he adds.
'As we progress picture by picture, projects are gradually revealed. [...] It is a library of details, colours, collages and atmospheres collected over time. It is a manifesto of the elements at the heart of my work and my life: precision, confusion, passion, accumulation, the need for disorder, which gives rise to energy, and the need for emptiness. It is a self-portrait.'
Ronan Bouroullec: Day After Day is published by Phaidon on 5 October 2023
Available from WHSmith, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
-
A new limited-edition Rhodes piano and Gibson doubleneck guitar aim for the stars
The new Rhodes Mk8 Earth Edition piano and Gibson Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck guitar revisit classic instruments at a price
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The new interior design trends we spotted at Salone del Mobile 2024
These are the interior design trends to look out for in 2024 and beyond, from soft upholstery to conversation pits and low dining
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Tiffany & Co nods to its theatrical history with a surreal new campaign
Tiffany & Co campaign ‘With Love, Since 1837’ sees Dan Tobin Smith and set designer Rachel Thomas create an offbeat set
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ronan Bouroullec exhibition at Centre Pompidou features ceramics and amorphous ink drawings
Centre Pompidou hosts Ronan Bouroullec's decorative designs, reflecting the designer's ongoing explorations of form and function (until 23 September 2024)
By Amy Verner Published
-
Sir Kenneth Grange’s influential industrial designs are chronicled in a new book
‘Kenneth Grange: Designing the Modern World’ explores the life and work of the pioneering British industrial designer
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Vaarnii launches the ‘Maasto’ chair by Ronan Bouroullec
The new Ronan Bouroullec chair for Vaarnii launches during Stockholm Design Week 2024, marking the Finnish company’s first experiments in pine plywood
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
LA gallery Blackman Cruz celebrates 30 years of ‘beauty, oddity, and specialness’
‘Beauty & Mischief: The Design Alchemy of Blackman Cruz’ is a new book that charts three decades of the LA antique and modern furniture gallery, with a foreword by Ryan Murphy
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
From the spoon to the city: the design of Gianfranco Frattini
‘Gianfranco Frattini. Design 1955/2003’ is a new book chronicling the architect and designer’s work as well as his concept of designing ‘from the spoon to the city’
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
Inside Salvador Dalí’s eccentric Portlligat home
Salvador Dalí's eccentric Portlligat home is the subject of ‘Casa Dalí’, a new book by Apartamento with photography by Coco Capitán
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
A new book charts the history of Black design
'Now You See Me! An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design' is a new book by Charlene Prempeh covering fashion, architecture and design
By Shawn Adams Published
-
Ronan Bouroullec’s new lamps with Manufacture de Sèvres resemble otherworldly creatures
Manufacture de Sèvres presents Ronan Bouroullec’s ‘Lampes Sèvres’, an exhibition of new lighting works (until 25 November 2023)
By Rosa Bertoli Published