Sculpture ”Phoenix” – Exhibition Villa du Lavoir ‘Vert Nuit, Noir Jade’ – Paris Design Week – Paris
Phoenix’ is a sculpture born of an old emotion: the one William Amor experienced when, years ago, he discovered a piece of oak trunk split by a storm.
In the wound of the fallen giant, the artist had recognized the shape of a heart – a bruised, but still vibrant heart. He had kept it without any specific idea, as one keeps a fragment of foretold beauty.
For Phoenix, this silent find finally takes on its full meaning.
From this scar, an olive branch springs forth, a symbol of peace in these uncertain times. The rebirth that unfolds here speaks of the power of life: even broken matter can breathe new life.
The name of the work evokes the mythical bird that rises from its ashes. Here, it’s the old oak trunk, scarred by the elements, that finds a second life. From its wound – a vestige of a tormented past – emerges the evergreen olive branch, bearer of tenacious hope and the peace that keeps on blooming.
True to his approach, William Amor transforms what the world discards. Used plastic bottles, collected from the streets of Paris, become a precious material in his hands. Cleaned, cut one by one, then dyed a multitude of shades of green, they are transformed into crystalline olive leaves. Each leaf is engraved, sculpted and set by hand, patiently, like a jewel.
Branches and roots, crafted in textured brass, painted and varnished, extend this alchemical gesture. The knot of the old oak, worked using the burnt-wood technique, becomes the vibrant base of this metamorphosis.
More than six hundred hours were needed to give birth to Phoenix:
a work that celebrates the capacity of the living – and of human beings – to be reborn, to transform loss into light.
Piece presented during the exhibition Vert Nuit, Noir Jade, by the artisans of Villa du Lavoir, during Paris Design Week 2025.
Midnight Green, Jade Black
by the artisans of Villa du Lavoir, during Paris Design Week 2025: William Amor, Atelier Baqué-Molinié, Big Time Studio, Archipel Paris / Sébastien Cordoléani, Sophie Cure, Studio Fidèle, Marion Flament, Elise Fouin, Mathilde Gullaud, Anais Jarnoux, Samuel Tomatis, Hubert Jouzeau, Jenna Kaes, Karl Mazlo.
@william.amor | @baque_molinie | @bigtime.studio | @archipelparis | @sophie_cure | @studio_fidele | @marionflamentmarion | @cordoleani | @elisefouindesign | @mathilde_gullaud | @anaisjarnoux | @samueltomatis | @hubertjouzeau | @jennakaes | @karlmazlo
PROJECT TEAM
William Amor, Rémy Jarnoux, Marion Le Bellec, Cécile Lefeuvre, Alice Aburto, Solène Sainte-Marie.
SEEDS OF MEANING
Additional material:
Broken oak knot
Date:
16 November 2025
