8 ALEXANDRE BENJAMIN NAVET
The artist whose free-flowing style is making waves in the world of design
Crafting window displays for Hermès, painting joyous frescoes on museum façades and an ongoing collaboration with Van Cleef & Arpels, transforming its boutiques into walking sketchbooks, French artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet’s exuberant work adds joie de vivre to the interiors scene just when we need it. We spoke to him as he began work on an immersive new exhibition in Paris for Galerie Derouillon.
How do you think your work makes people feel when they inhabit its space?
I made a giant fresco in Toulon in the South of France on a building called Hôtel des Arts. The 19th-century structure becomes a canvas – it is so exciting to make it happen. I love this scale and the dialogue with the public. Many Toulonnais told me they (re)discovered this building and were very happy to live in this ochre, green, blue, yellow and orange palette.
How does your work translate into the home?
I recently created a collection of carpets and carpet slabs for luxury flooring company Codimat Collection, called ‘Parcelles’. I like the idea of a playful relationship to the floor: the possibility of working the textile floor as a mosaic that leaves everyone free to play on a variety of assemblages of patterns.
What is your favourite medium to work with?
Working on commissions for interior murals – in situ fresco – is my favourite type of work. You cannot easily put a fresco away or exchange it, so this creates a very special relationship with the client. They often give me carte blanche but I need them to be involved – it is all about dialogue with people who inhabit the space; it is also a dialogue with the space itself and its existing architecture and decor.
Tell us where you have found inspiration recently.
Two books I found and which are particularly inspiring me now are Creacion En El Espacio/creation in Space, a 1972 edition by Joan Miro with incredible sculptures and beautiful pictures from his studio. Kabuki Greats, a Japanese book about major Kabuki plays and characters in history. The costumes and stage sets are so fascinating and make me want to travel back to Japan. Ornamental details in architecture also inspire me.