“it is CRUCIAL to EMBRACE And understand the Creativity of the past. it gives More soul to Any Creation And Links it to our COLLECTIVE Memory”

authority, and there’s something joyful about it. These are all of the elements you find in my body of work. I’m a Libra so I’m always looking for harmony. The creative side (of me) fools around with sculptural concepts, shapes, and colours, and the other side makes it happen precisely.”

Perfection is a recurring theme in conversations with Van der Straeten. He was quoted in a 2013 Wall Street Journal profile saying he is “obsessed” with achieving this lofty, subjective ideal. Beyond a strong concept with a high level of craftsmanship, he feels an object is flawless when it “attracts you and glows in a mysterious way.”

His infatuation with perfection also stems from the fact that he began his career as a jewellery designer. Since graduating from art school in 1985, he has made jewellery for Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, and his own eponymous brand. “As a jewellery designer you work on a very small scale. You’re creating something precious, something worn by women, so you tend to think in terms of precision, softness, movement. It has to be delicate. You think in terms of tiny objects, of details that span half a millimetre, so when you begin working on a larger scale, your objects tend to keep this level of preciousness.”

Van der Straeten opened his gallery in the Marais district of Paris in 1999. By 2004, he had his own bronze and cabinet-making workshops. He has always worked for himself: “I’m very lucky to have always been independent. It’s very satisfying as a designer to have total freedom over what you can do.”