In The Frame: Mathieu Lehanneur
The French designer floated a huge flaming cauldron above Paris’s night sky for the 2024 Olympics. This month he presents Ici et Maintenant, an exhibition at Christie’s in Paris, exploring ideas of time, nature and individuality

Left, designer Mathieu Lehanneur. Photo: © Leandro Viana. Right, the Olympic Cauldron he created for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Photo: © Felipe Ribon for raf-studio
What is your design ethos?
Mathieu Lehanneur: ‘My main purpose is to create a link between an object and a human being. What really interests me is the capacity of an object to produce, induce or change behaviours or beliefs.’
What themes do the works in your upcoming exhibition at Christie’s explore?
ML: ‘Ici et Maintenant explores ideas connected with time, nature and individuality. At the heart of the exhibition is “I am”, a collection of chairs, each of which is custom-designed from the initials of its owner, transforming it into a personal coat of arms. These pieces are more than objects — they are embodiments of life’s extraordinary miracle, reminders that, statistically, simply being alive is an incredible stroke of luck. We are all winners of an unimaginable lottery.

Mathieu Lehanneur’s ‘I am’ chair, on show in Ici et Maintenant until 23 January 2025 at Christie’s in Paris. Photo: © Felipe Ribon
‘The exhibition also introduces new creations such as the “Apparition” light installation, the “Liquid Glass” table, the “Paradise” cabinet and the “Confetti dresser”. Much like the Impressionists, who captured the fleeting moments of air and light, I strive to instil a sense of life and movement in my work.
‘For me, an object must breathe and remain in motion, even if imperceptibly. Glass should appear to swell, fabric should drift as if caught in a breeze, and a flower should seem ready to shed a petal at any moment.’
What ritual or routine keeps you going?
ML: ‘It may seem paradoxical in my line of work, but my most valuable routine is simply closing my eyes. It’s like stepping into absolute silence to compose a melody. With my eyes closed, the mind begins to play, bringing images, sensations, solutions and oddities — seeds of ideas that eventually take shape and become reality.’

Mathieu Lehanneur at his headquarters in Ivry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris. Photo: © Felipe Ribon
What work of art made you see things differently?
ML: ‘Neo Rauch’s paintings have been my companions for many years. They are labyrinths in which I love to lose myself, like layers of space and time overlaid. Sometimes, I think I’d love to invent a system that could record our dreams, allowing us to revisit them at will. It would be like having a Rauch painting crafted just for us, anew, each morning.’
What is your favourite view, anywhere in the world?
ML: ‘The view from our new Pied-à-Terre in New York, overlooking the Hudson River. Sitting at the crossroads of a residential project and an exhibition site, this exclusive space allows us to host clients and friends in a more intimate and conversational setting. It is a special place for me — surrounded by beauty, almost suspended in the air, like an island in the sky. I imagined this penthouse as the home of an imaginary collector.’

Mathieu Lehanneur’s Pied-à-Terre in New York: ‘like an island in the sky’. On display against the wall is the Olympic Torch he designed. Photo: © Leandro Viana
Which artist or designer do you wish you knew more about?
ML: ‘I would be happy to learn more about Max Clendinning, an Irish designer, sculptor and architect born in 1924. Despite his long career, there are relatively few surviving pieces by him and little documentation on his work.’
What artists or designers are you watching right now?
ML: ‘I recently discovered the work of Bobbi Essers, a painter born just 25 years ago. Her paintings are like freeze-frames, split-screens, very cinematic — as if a phone had accidentally filmed or recorded moments of life, sounds and adolescence.’
What is the most memorable show you’ve seen in the past year?
ML: ‘I had the privilege of witnessing the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece, on 16 April 2024. This event combines ritual, choreography and performance, as a procession of women in ceremonial attire use the sun’s rays to ignite the flame, passing it to the first torchbearer to begin its journey.’

Mathieu Lehanneur alongside the Paris 2024 Olympic Cauldron in the Tuileries Garden. Photo: © Felipe Ribon for raf-studio
What was the last gift you gave?
ML: ‘A knife. More precisely, a small pocket knife. I gave it to a dear friend who was beginning a battle against an illness. She tells me that she often grips it tightly in her hand when she needs to. There’s no need to open or use it — just holding it in the palm of her hand feels like having an ally.’
What are you working on currently?
ML: ‘I am always working on new creations with my teams. Years ago, we made the conscious decision to take full control of the entire process, from the first sketch to the delivery. Each piece is the result of two or three years of meticulous work — until the moment we feel it’s ready to be revealed to the world.’