Anne Dérian’s Art Emerges Piece by Piece
Anne Dérian worked in various architectural offices in Paris and felt deceived somehow: Creativity, which had been at the center of her studies at school, represented only a small fraction of her everyday professional life. Her dissatisfaction grew until the day she first saw the work of the mosaicist Mathilde Jonquière. It was a moment that would change her life forever.
Dérian’s studio emanates a pleasant tranquillity. Although she holds to no scrupulous order, everything has its place. She is creating a floor mosaic out of asymmetrically cut tiles in bright red tones. The design is finished, and the pieces are arranged in a grid, ready to be laid. Her tools are identical to those used by floor tilers: a cutting device and mosaic pincers for finer work. She has two large tables for cutting and arranging, lots of light, numerous books, a computer for drawing and, of course, material and tile color samples. And good coffee — Dérian is French, after all.
“I had never thought that mosaics could be art,” Dérian says. “For me, they had always been handicrafts for children and seniors.” Seeing Jonquière’s work changed her mind. “I realized what possibilities the medium held and right away took two weeks off to attend a course in which I learned the technique.”
“I had never thought that mosaics could be art,” Dérian says. “For me, they had always been handicrafts for children and seniors.” Seeing Jonquière’s work changed her mind. “I realized what possibilities the medium held and right away took two weeks off to attend a course in which I learned the technique.”
Then her direction became clear: away from architecture and toward permanent art installations with patterns that can be both subtle and modern, filigreed and extensive, delicate and powerful. For her mosaics, Dérian uses traditional ceramic tiles from the Portuguese manufacturer Cinca.
She draws the designs in a CAD program, then gets them ready for installation. She cuts the tiles with a tile cutter — or with pincers when she’s working with more delicate pieces — then glues them at the correct intervals and in the right arrangement on a grid. Together with a drawing and an assembly plan, the pieces are sent to the tiler, who transfers the work onto the wall or floor. She designed the mosaic seen here for clients in Normandy.
Dérian works together with architects such as Sandra Pauquet. When designing this bathroom in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, she first received drawings from Pauquet with the dimensions of the niche and tub. Based on the specifications, she came up with several designs, from which the client chose her favorite. “The clients decide which colors will be used — after all, they are the ones who are going to live with the design,” Dérian says. “I like all colors and have no special preference. An important part of my work is to customize the designs to the wishes of the client and make them personal.”
In the niche, the pattern is surrounded by standard tiles, which helps keep the cost down. This wall cost about $420 per square yard.
Even in this computer rendering, the mosaic and its colors beam with an amazing liveliness.
For the Karloff restaurant in the Kreuzberg area of Berlin, Dérian designed this abstract portrait of the restaurant’s namesake, actor Boris Karloff in his role as Frankenstein. Simple and ingenious, the 13-by-16½-foot (4-by-5-meter) image is made up of halved standard tiles. It cost about $4,200 overall.
The look of the mosaic varies depending on the time of day and the light source.
Dérian always develops her patterns for big areas using standard tile sizes, so that plain tiles can be combined with the mosaic to make the project less costly.
This delicate bicolor pattern, Béryl, resembles lacework.
This delicate bicolor pattern, Béryl, resembles lacework.
The Damaia pattern is part of Dérian’s latest collection. It consists of a combination of matte and glossy pieces, a technique she particularly likes: “Depending on the sight angle, a second pattern can be discerned within the main pattern.”
The Cobalt pattern is inspired by azulejos, tin-glazed ceramic tiles that were widespread in Spain and Portugal during the Renaissance.
The wall in this photo is a great example of how Dérian’s mosaics can easily be combined with standard tiles.
The wall in this photo is a great example of how Dérian’s mosaics can easily be combined with standard tiles.
The Or-Mosaik pattern is inspired by the Art Deco patterns of the 1920s.
Dérian created it using deep black and gray pieces, accentuated with 24-karat-gold-topped square tiles.
For her Quasiperio design, Dérian took inspiration from the structure of aperiodic crystals —that is, crystals that don’t conform to a regular lattice structure. The result is a sort of organized chaos that has a contemporary look.
Whether she’s creating mosaics in the modern or classical style, Dérian has found her creative place in the world. “I love this work,” she says. “I love the contact with people that it entails. At the moment, I’m working on a mosaic for the floor of an apartment in Brussels, a gift from a daughter to her mother. A drawing of the daughter’s son has become the basis of my design. In this way, my work is linked with my clients, which is enriching and a whole lot of fun!”