JOËL BARTZ

Joël Bartz is an artist who has developed his own technique to create unique luminous sculptures designed for interior decoration.

Interview with Joël Bartz:

"I am a lighting designer, a designer/sculptor. The objects I sell are unique creations, entirely handmade, intended for interior decoration. Self-taught for the past ten years, I have invented my own technique using metal, paper, clay, and sometimes wood and fabric. I built my own workshop from scratch—a serene and original workspace that reflects what I strive to create.

My sculptures are organic, sometimes dreamlike and often warm, and I make sure they can blend just as well into a minimalist, design-oriented interior as into the home of a passionate collector surrounded by eclectic works."

A short story:

"I grew up in a mining town in Lorraine. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him all worked deep in the coal mines. Perhaps it was those long years spent underground that gave my grandfather a taste for wild, open spaces. With him, I spent my childhood outdoors, far from the noise of the city. We would roam the lakes of Lorraine, go fishing, or wander through forests in search of mushrooms and edible plants.

Later on, I became passionate, among other things, about the surrealist works of Dalí, the paintings of Hundertwasser, and the architecture of Gaudí. In Metz, I had the opportunity to discover Chagall’s stained-glass windows, whose colors delighted me. Gradually, as my artistic eye sharpened, my desire to create turned into an obsession.

Winter is long in Lorraine; people retreat into the shelter of their homes, and every household strives to make its interior as welcoming as possible. From my roots, I have retained this simple desire: to bring warmth into a home, to bring a bit of the outdoors inside—the image of open spaces, the scent of the forest… In my new collection, Les Minérales, I enjoy taking hold of an idea and distilling forms, keeping only what is essential in the design to shape something unattainable, such as the Milky Way or the ocean, into a tangible concept.

My work speaks of the love I have for nature. When my sculptures light up, they become an invitation to contemplation."