Andrés Monnier
Andrés Monnier is a Mexico-based Sculptor, Designer, and Curator
Where are you from and where do you live now? I’m from Guadalajara, Jalisco, but I’m based in Ensenada, Baja California.
Why did you decide to start your studio in Ensenada? Ensenada is a city that has a lot to give. I don’t think I arrived in Ensenada to build a new life, but Ensenada gave me the opportunity to develop my passion: creating my universe of pieces.
What is the Cuatro Cuatros project? Olympo - Exhibition is the body of work that my team (Monnier Studio) and I developed last october 2021, as part of my first sculptural design collection and solo exhibition. For this collection we worked with different stones from Mexico to create a series of pieces inspired in Ancient Greek stories and Greek Mythology, working as a sinergy of cultures through the materials and processes of sculpting. The exhibition showed all the pieces of the collection, along with visuals and evidence of the creating and sculpting process behind each design. The collection is composed with pieces in different states of matter with an immersive purpose, each volume evolves through the use of different methods, materials and design. Starting from minimum intervention in sculpting, and ascending to more intricate and complex techniques of creation.
We collaborated with Cuatro Cuatros to do the exhibition. We restored an old structure created by the Mexican architect Claudia Turrent in 2014. We did a whole intense restoration, along with electric installations, maintenance, and the production of the exhibition. It was a huge project created with 2 months of intense work. I personally suffered several injuries in the process by taking my body and health to the limit. Also by financing all by myself, I suffered some significant economic injuries, but now I’m glad to say I'm over that. It is the project I’m most proud of and it was a before and after in my career and perception of reality.
When did you start sculpting/designing? I’ve been designing pieces and spaces since 2018, but nothing linked to a professional and serious approach. It was not until 2021 that I decided to explore a sculptor’s life. Since January 2021, I’ve been officially sculpting and designing pieces as a profession.
Who or what inspires you? Inspiration comes to us in a variety of ways, it never leaves, but our awareness of it is constantly opening and closing. My secret to keeping the flame of inspiration alive is being sensitive and aware of my surroundings. I’ve always been very sensitive even as a child, and that sensitivity brought a lot of hurt, I hated that about myself. Being too sensitive makes life more difficult in this world, but as the years have gone by, I’ve learned that getting hurt is part of the process, it’s part of life. It is now the main reason why I get so deep into every piece I create. I understood that life comes from us, not towards us.
I find a lot of inspiration in natural processes. My main passion at the moment is working with mirrors and fire, always related to stone. I work with fire because its existence means more than a chemical process, an element or a source of energy, fire is also a representation of chaos, primitiveness, brightness, life and death. A personification of alfa and omega, a feeling. Choosing mirrors and materials with reflective properties is not a coincidence. I work with mirrors because every time I look at one, I am reminded that what we see in our reflection is just an illusion. You can’t see and perceive at first instance your whole and true self, instead, there’s a possibility to understand that what we see is just a superficial fragment of ourselves.
What was your inspiration behind the Narciso mirror and the Greek Mythology collections? Olympo - Collection is inspired by the stories of Greek mythology. Every detail has a purpose and all designs were born from the conception of understanding the relationship between symbolism and the interpretation of the character in every myth. Each piece serves as a tribute to the essence of the myth. Every part of the process has been carefully thought through; from the design, selection of materials, and use of textures, to the craftsmanship and expression behind each sculpture. The collection has 3 volumes. Each volume evolves through the use of different techniques, materials, and design. Starting from minimum intervention in sculpting, and ascending to more intricate and complex techniques of creation. The pieces are crafted with different stones from Mexico, from Querétaro, and San Luís Potosí, from Puebla, and Baja California.
What do you love about working with fire? I work with fire because its existence means more than a chemical process, an element, or a source of energy, fire is also a representation of chaos, primitiveness, brightness, life and death. A personification of alfa and omega, a feeling...
How did you begin working with Galerie Philia? For me, it was a dream that came true. In 2020 I lived a life-changing experience that made my mind and body synchronize. I realized that I was not liking who I was, had some emotional scars, and had to do a deep introspection that made me change my perception of reality. I wanted to evolve and become a better version of myself. Pretty ambitious for a 21-year-old. At that time, I was running a business for exterior furniture, which I never felt I identified with. I discovered Galerie Philia on Instagram and I remember it blew my mind. The selection of the pieces, the quality of the works, the incredible exhibitions, the unique sober/brutalist but delicate taste of the gallery hypnotized me. At the end of 2020, I started to create the first pieces of my first collection: Prometheo Uno - Fire Table and Narciso Uno - Mirror. I remember affirming that 3 years from that date, I was going to be part of Galerie Philia. I didn’t have any idea how to do it, but I was sure of it. Instead of years, it was months. While on vacation in NYC, I visited by coincidence the exhibition Galerie Philia was running in Chelsea. It was a piece of luck that Ygaël Attali (the founder) was there. From the first moment we connected, I thought he was brilliant, and I perceive him as a mentor. I casually showed him the preliminary work that I was crafting, and he liked it and I sent information a few weeks later. And that’s how after a lot of work everything started!
Do you have a favorite exhibition that you have participated in? Hard to say, but I’ll choose Temenos in Milan’s Design Week with Galerie Philia. It was also a horrible experience because the piece I created for the exhibition got shipped to another continent instead of Italy. So we couldn’t exhibit that one. But, it was an experience that made me realize a lot about the value we give to things, our existence, and that at the end of the day, we really can’t control anything. It was an exhibition where I learned a lot because I also helped on the production and installation. It's always a pleasure to work with Philia’s team.
What was the meaning behind the piece you created for Temenos in Milan? Primitiveness can be read between lines. An organic shape, encapsulating fire, with simplicity in its DNA. The only function the bowl has is to control the source of the fire. No complexity in between, just simple shapes and materials presented as one.
Favorite things to do in Ensenada/Baja California? I love to see the mountains, ocean, and landscapes. But sunsets in Ensenada are outstanding.
Who are your favorite designers? Vincenzo de Cotiis, Hector Esrawe, Aki Cooren, Niclas Wolf, Abel Carcamo, Lucas Morten, Adeline Halot, Paul Cocksedge, Jan Ernst, Isac Kaid, Pietro Franceschini, William Guillion, Jeremy Anderson… and I could name more.
What is your daily routine? Every day in my work it’s really dynamic. Anti-routine. Right now I work in my pieces, but also I have other responsibilities in other businesses, so everyday I try to be really productive along with my teamwork. It’s hard and I get tired a lot, but I love it. I like to push myself to my own limits. But when I work on my ideas, creations and pieces I’m really serious about it. Of course, it’s fun but for me, it’s a very important process and I try to be at the same level. I like to do a lot of analogies with the techniques of creation and situations in real life, so for me when I’m working in a piece is the moment where my mind drifts between reality and imagination.
Where do you dream of traveling? Iceland.
What were some highlights of your year? This past summer I exhibited with Galerie Philia in Nice, France, but I also worked on my new collection of pieces and prepared pieces for upcoming shows with Casa Quieta and GP in Mexico City. In Monnier Studio, we’re creating a series of totems for Bottega Veneta’s stores in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and the US. I also co-produced a camp in Burning Man, I was invited by the team of House of Kirschner. I also curated a new exhibition for Philia to show deep and outstanding Latin-American collectible design in October, as part of Design Week México.
How does Mexican design differ from other countries? Just as many Latin-American countries, México has a strong cultural heritage. Our country is full of beauty, customs, traditions, nature, such a rich country with what we have to offer. You can find all of that reflected in Mexican design.
Dream client/customer? One that doesn’t ask for discounts (haha)!
Follow: @monnierandres
Text: Veronica H. Speck