Mathieu Segret

Hello Mathieu, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little more about your background?

My name is Mathieu Segret, I am 38 years old. Trained in product design, I continue to work in this field for various clients. Alongside this, I have been developing an artistic practice for several years, which nourishes my sensitivity and creativity. I chose wood as my primary medium, drawn to the richness and vitality of this living material. This exploration then led me to discover plant-based lacquer, whose depth and subtlety deeply inspire me.

How did you discover urushi lacquer?

It was through my research on Japanese craftsmanship that I discovered lacquer, observing objects of simple and timeless beauty. Without immediately grasping its full significance, I wanted to delve deeper into this discovery by training with Nicolas Pinon in Paris, whose teaching revealed to me the richness and subtlety of this material. Lacquer moves me with its indefinable contours, its silent depth, and the infinite possibilities it holds.

What is your approach to this technique?

Lacquer proves to be a remarkably resilient material, but also one of profound demands. Learning it necessarily involves mastering traditional techniques before venturing into more experimental forms. After more than two years of practice, I am still at the beginning of my explorations. Lacquer requires time, observation, and constant attention to its environment and the seasons.

What role does the concept of time play in your practice?

Time is an essential element in the practice of lacquer. It cannot be compressed, and one must accept its natural slowness. I had already experienced this dimension of time with wood, sometimes waiting several years for it to dry in order to obtain a stable and balanced material. Lacquer, too, demands a patient, but even more attentive, relationship: daily monitoring, almost like caring for it. This rhythm creates a special connection with each piece, comparable to that which one cultivates with a plant that one watches grow day after day. Through this attentiveness, a true affinity develops with the material.

You work with ancient materials and techniques. How do you connect them to a contemporary vision of the object?

I don't see a real opposition between the old and the new. They are primarily different approaches, more or less connected to nature and humanity. Machines have transformed our ways of doing things, making processes faster but also more distant. Through my practice, I try to reconnect with certain forgotten manual skills, to understand them and reinterpret them according to my own sensibility, in continuity with the present.

Is there a technique you would like to try out soon? 

For some time now, I have been working on the different levels of depth that lacquer can offer. This research echoes the work of Pierre Soulages, whose mastery of nuances inspires me. My goal is to find a subtle balance between density and brilliance, a point of harmony that would give full meaning to my research.

Are there any artisans, artists or lacquer masters who particularly inspire you?

I have many mentors, and each of them has nourished my thinking in their own way. Currently, I am fascinated by the work of Kohei Ukai, whose disconcerting yet seemingly simple technique captivates me. Other influences, from ceramics, poetry, and music, also enrich my perspective on the world and its potential intersections with the universe of plant-based lacquer.

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