Meet Andrés Monnier | Artist, Sculptor, Business Man

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrés Monnier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrés, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think taking risks has been a key point in my process. And also in my life… when we talk about risks we allude to a more complex meaning than just referring to an undesired event that may or not occur. Risk takes place in the unknown and uncertain.

I must confess, there’s a constant feeling inside me that feels like I’m improvising, as a reaction to being in positions where I face the unknown. I often surprise myself in situations too extremist. That’s why a lot of decisions I’d take feels crucial.
Experiencing this “extreme” situations made me realize about a small fraction of this universe’s complexity. Of our perceptions of reality, our consciousness… it made me be aware of what we call “life”.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think I can say that I have always loved creating. Ideas, problems, solutions, processes, etc. For me, creating is what moves me. But my first serious approach to the art and design field was when I co-started a business five years ago for exterior furniture in Guadalajara (fire pits to be more specific). The first fire table we made was handcrafted by me. From the conception of the design, choosing materials, formulas, and basically making mistakes and learning about them. Since then I’d work every single moment along with the art and design field in every project. It was a before and after in my life.

Right now, I’m focused on creating collectible design pieces, but I’m also developing some macro installations. Just like our first rock installation inspired in mushrooms we’re going to exhibit next November 18 in Mexico City.
My work goes beyond creating design with rock and other materials, I perceive my pieces as fragments of a materialized consciousness. Just as people, they are more than just a name and a physical body, they serve a purpose and have a unique and specific design, but they also tell stories in the details through the synergy between art, design and technique.

Just as our perception of reality, a rock can be transformed with the right tools and techniques. As in many handcrafting processes, you can synchronize your body and mind to achieve a deeply focused state of mind. I’ve discovered that in this state I am able to better understand and express my different ways of thinking. Sometimes I feel limited by words, and I find myself comparing the different aspects of my life to the processes of sculpting. Transforming the materials makes me feel like I am molding my mind and changing my own perception of reality. It feels like I am creating a symbolic representation of a technique to change my way of thinking through a new language of creation using a malleable and organic material

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, of 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…

Creating my universe of pieces is my motivation. Each piece must have a multi-sensorial purpose. Hiding secrets in shapes and textures that link each piece to a different collection as an allegory is one of my goals. I want my work to go deeper than just creating and designing a piece with functionality, I want them to make people question “what” and “how” they feel about themselves and their existence in a subtle and almost quiet way. Too evident is wrong, I appreciate secrecy and meaningful details.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a small ritual every time I visit LA that gives me so much peace it’s unbelievable for me. But I would recommend going to Marina del Rey’s Beach with a bike, a bluetooth speaker (or headphones), some snacks and fresh drinks, towels, sunscreen, sunglasses and enjoy that present fully by going on bike all the beach corredor all the way to Malibu Beach and do beach picnic in the spot you must like.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to specially thank Luis Mata, Erick Niebla, Raul Zavala and Giannina Gavaldon, members and friends of our studio: Monnier. Their support and love for the project are the heart of our work.

Also to Ygaël Attali, Galerie Philia’s founder. Special thanks for believing in me and the project. He has been a mentor and friend.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monnierandres/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andr%C3%A9s-monnier-98b394246

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TioTrevi

Other: https://www.instagram.com/monnierstudio/

Image Credits
Andrés Monnier Maison Mouton Noir Gabriel Gallegos Luis Mata