For Paris Design Week, the Maison Lacmé studio presents Astre Mobile at the Hôtel de la Marine, a transparent car transformed into a work of art that brings together craftsmanship, materials, and imagination.
Presentation For Paris Design Week and the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, the Maison Lacmé studio presents Astre Mobile, a transparent car transformed into a work of art that brings together craftsmanship, materials, and imagination. Astre Mobile is a transparent car with more to it than meets the eye, whether moving or standing still. Conceived as a work of art in its own right, it follows in the tradition of Art Cars, where the automobile becomes a medium for artistic expression. Conceived and artistically directed by Antoine Tauvel, Artistic Director of Maison Lacmé, Astre Mobile emerged from an extensive design process combining drawings, formal studies, models, and sculptural prototypes. The result blends luxury with simplicity: noble, sustainable materials bear the traces of transience, movement, and human touch. This work also celebrates encounters and collective creation. Around ten French master craftspeople were invited to contribute. Gold, onyx, shells, wood, leather, feathers, lacquer, porcelain: each material is treated as a language, and each piece as a standalone work of art. From the steering wheel to the speedometer, from the gearshift knob to the upholstery, everyday elements are transformed and reinterpreted according to Antoine Tauvel’s original artistic vision. Astre Mobile in the inner courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine; Credits: Hervé Voët Astre Mobile thus reveals itself as a mobile cabinet of curiosities. It is a work that can be appreciated as a whole or explored piece by piece, with attention paid to every detail. Its individual parts can also be repurposed in surprising ways: stone hubcaps become a lamp and are replaced with trompe-l’oeil versions, the car’s logo is transformed into a piece of jewelry, and much more. It is an invitation to slow down and look, explore the materials, and give free rein to the imagination. The project draws on themes that recur throughout Antoine Tauvel’s work: movement, time, play, and our connection to the elements and the stars. Each contribution engages with these themes, from the craftsperson’s gesture to the evocation of larger phenomena, from touch to light. At once an object, a work of art, and an experience, Astre Mobile questions our relationship with objects and how we use them. It offers a different interpretation of the automobile: no longer merely a means of transportation, but a realm for creativity and reverie. Astre Mobile brings together around ten French master craftspeople, including: - Feather marquetry speedometer — Maison Vermeulen - Shell-embroidered upholstery — Aurélie Lanoiselée - Porcelain gear lever — Ateliers Arquié - Heater housing — photogravure by Fanny Boucher, gilded with gold leaf by Lise Richardot - Driftwood steering wheel — Claude Prautois - Urushi lacquer key — Alexandre Duboc - Russian leather pieces — Élise Blouet-Ménard - White onyx hubcaps — Hervé Obligi - Trompe-l’oeil white onyx hubcaps — Pierre-Yves Morel - Metallic embroidery logo — Marie Archambaud ABOUT MAISON LACMÉ Maison Lacmé is a creative studio founded by Cécile and Antoine Tauvel. Their approach combines art, design, and fine craftsmanship, with a particular focus on collaboration and expertise. Astre Mobile is the first work to emerge from this shared exploration. Together, they work with collectors, interior designers, institutions, and luxury houses, among others. Their aim is to bring dreamlike worlds and objects to life, rekindling a sense of wonder, celebrating the beauty of the moment, and weaving stories to be shared, where connections emerge and time fades away. ABOUT PARIS DESIGN WEEK Paris Design Week is a leading contemporary design event that transforms Paris into an open-air creative trail each year, bringing together designers, master craftspeople, galleries, publishing houses, and cultural institutions. Over ten days, the event spotlights new forms of creativity, craftsmanship, and dialogue between heritage, innovation, and the decorative arts.
Admission: Free entry, no reservation required
Source: paris.fr — photo: Kévin Van Campenhout