Gildas Berthelot

Born: 1961

Hometown: Montreal,

Based in: Montreal

Both a cabinetmaker and a visual artist, Gildas Berthelot has forged a unique path in the world of contemporary design over the past 30 years. His vision and his experience give birth to sculptural furniture pieces that are also imaginary creatures, shaped thanks to his exceptional ingenuity in craftsmanship techniques.

Gildas Berthelot draws, designs and hand crafts each work himself in his workshop in Canada. His dual training as an artist and a cabinetmaker allows him to reconcile artistic creativity and technical prowess. The creative idea is refined progressively from the second to the third dimension, from the drawing, the model and to the finalized work.

Everything starts with the drawing, a medium that is an integral part of Gildas Berthelot’s incredibly precise and focused methodology. “While cabinetmaking requires many physical means: plans, templates, tools, and an extremely rigorous method, drawing is to me as much a form of introspection as it is a liberation. I like this contrast between the charcoal which slides freely on a sheet of paper and the strict organization of the tracing of a piece of furniture.”

Gildas Berthelot In The Studio

More About Gildas Berthelot

Question Icon What inspires you?

The nature, the sea, the water movement , infinity, and sometime, a happy moment.

Question Icon Describe your creative process.

Everything starts with the drawing,. While cabinetmaking requires many physical means: plans, templates, tools, and an extremely rigorous method, drawing is to me as much a form of introspection as it is a liberation. After the drawing, I creates a scale model, or a “volume in progress” of the future piece of furniture. The model is a three dimensional sketch. Nothing is finalized until I create the plan.

Question Icon What are 3 words that best describe your work?