Eric Flogny ©
Portrait
A painter, sculptor and engraver, François-Xavier Richard initially turned to theater and set design. While still at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Angers, he created sets for professional troupes and storytellers. Already in his work, he showed a taste for artisanal techniques (egg tempera, stamping, wood engraving, etc.), and set out in search of technical, visual and pictorial enrichment. A series of unexpected encounters led him to the discovery of handmade wallpaper. After graduating in Art and then Communication, he was asked to take part in a unique teaching experiment in France: teaching a craft to young students with the help of professionals. He met Véronique de la Hougue, curator of the wallpaper department at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and was then hired by Mauny, one of the last remaining manufacturers of block printed wallpaper. Convinced of the value of creative work in the field of woodblock wallpaper, François-Xavier Richard decided to combine his technical knowledge with his talent as a visual artist to create l'Atelier d'Offard in 1999.
"In a spirit of research and innovation, the Atelier d'Offard combines the mastery of traditional techniques with modern processes and tools. The studio rediscovers and reinvents the use of paper in decoration."
With Atelier d'Offard, France's first and only bespoke wallpaper workshop, François-Xavier Richard is contributing to the revival of an art craft neglected since the middle of the 20th century. He remains fully committed to exploring new avenues and introducing his contemporaries to this revisited ancestral technique.
Lauréat du Prix Liliane Bettencourt pour l'Intelligence de la Main® 2009 En savoir plus
