Luminaire petite roue de moulin, 2022

Jean Bernard dit Berny  

Born in 1962, Berny has always had two passions: the quest for aesthetics and Asia. While still studying architecture, he set off to discover Thailand and then Indonesia as part of his studies. Many stays in Asia followed, where he settled for several years.

He rubbed shoulders with many artists and craftsmen whose works he imported and then turned to advertising creation, always between Asia and the West. It was the discovery of Zen meditation and a Japanese aesthetic and spiritual concept: Wabi-Sabi, which convinced him to develop his own creations.

WABI: simplicity, nature, dysimetry…

SABI: alteration by time, patina, imperfections….

By choosing used objects that have an experience, a soul, Berny prolongs their life. By diverting these objects and recycling materials, he enhances the textures and imperfections of the materials. The shapes are simple, in harmony with nature.

He uses ancestral Japanese techniques such as Shou Sugi Ban, burning of solid wood to increase its resistance or Kintsugi, a Japanese art consisting of enhancing breaks or cracks by sprinkling them with gold. Playing on paradoxes, Berny mixes this cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology by integrating the latest generation “cob" LEDs.