From Sand to Spirit: Jean-Michel Othoniel’s Sculptural Ode to Hennessy X.O

Sitting in his Paris garden, Jean-Michel Othoniel observes nature’s course. “There is always a moment of contemplation at the beginning,” he tells Hypeart, describing a flower’s bloom and the ways in which a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis. Othoniel, who was born in Saint-Étienne and is now based in the French capital, has for over 30 years created poetic glass sculptures that draw from nature, personal memory and transformation. It was natural, of course, for him to gravitate to using glass, whose very properties arise from a metamorphosis of melting sand and shaping that blown liquid into uncanny forms — that for the artist, has manifested into towering necklace-shaped sculptures, cascading entrances to the Paris metro, as well as a fountain in the Gardens of Versailles.

Hypeart met with Othoniel at his 8,500-square-foot warehouse that serves as both a production studio and office, housing many of his larger-scale works, as well as the team that brings his creations to life. Located in Paris’ southeastern neighborhood of Bercy, the former rail depot is a repository of various colored Murano glass beads that Othoniel transfigures into majestic forms, that he first conjures through watercolor illustrations on the light-drenched top level of his workplace.

A lover of history, Othoniel was excited when tapped by Hennessy to reinterpret the French maison’s X.O cognac bottle, paying homage to the label’s nearly 260 years in business, whilst providing a fresh artistic take on a centuries-old product. “I wanted to create a sculpture that pays homage to the carvers and show the many complexities within the beverage and amplify that through my work,” Othoniel added. With celeb endorsements like Nas, LeBron James and Kim Jones, it would be easy to dismiss Hennessy as another liquor brand on the market. But touring the company’s vineyards, cellars and state-of-the-art packing facilities quickly shows the attention to detail and adherence to tradition that the brand embodies above most. Amongst some of its older cellars are barrels encased with eaux-de-vie that have been maturing for over 120 years, yet patiently sitting still until just the right moment to come to market.

Othoniel’s sculptural collaboration mirrors this process of maturation, from barrel to bottle, as he sculpted the X.O decanter to reflect a gem patiently found in the rough. The Limited Edition model contains the glass carafe in a gold metaled case that retails for $284 USD, while the Masterpiece model is exclusive to only 108 units, features a wooden encasing to match Hennessy’s French oak barrels, along with a Baccarat crystal carafe embellished with colored gems emblematic of Othoniel’s glistening work. For connoisseurs looking to purchase the latter edition, that will cost a steep $38,734 USD. Accompanying the collaboration’s global release, Hypeart spoke with Othoniel to discuss his practice, his 20-year partnership with Hennessy and the projects he’s been working on in the studio.

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Jean-Michel Othoniel Hennessy X.O Bottle Collaboration

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Retrace your art journey and the early influences that impacted you during your formative years?

Saint-Étienne had a very good contemporary art scene of the ‘70s. This was around the beginning of contemporary art in France. A lot of American and English artists came visited and I remember a Robert Morris exhibition as a child and it left a big impact on me. You were able to enter the form he was drawing — there was a playful and joyful connection with the work. This was the starting point with my passion for art.

What sparked your interest in using unorthodox materials within your own work?

I began by working with materials that I was able to mold myself, the material of metamorphosis. For example, wax, which is solid and then I melted it into a liquid and then it became solid again. I love the material of transformation and one day I was invited to work at a research center in the South of France, where I discovered a whole new world of artisans and glassblowers. I was fascinated at how these guys, like magicians, were able to change sand into glass, then blow this liquid to make it solid again. So I wanted to work with them, and this in fact, was the beginning where I wasn’t working alone — which the 10 years prior, I was making sculptures by myself in my studio.

It taught me that I could be the maestro of my compositions, but I needed to have good people to work with, instead of having to learn how to blow glass myself — which you need to devote your life to the craft.

Your beady sculptural interventions appear like sentient beings frozen in time. How would you describe your practice, how you came to this form of art-making and the themes you probe into?

I love nature. I love to look at nature, so these sculptures are inspired by flowers. The idea is to look at nature and make abstract forms from it. There is always a moment of contemplation at the beginning of the relation with nature.

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“I love to connect with the past and find new ways to tell old stories.”

Your career goes back several decades, and you continue to make art at an unrelenting pace. Can you describe some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on over the years?

My first public art project at the Paris metro in 1996. It was a moment where my work met a larger audience and not one you’d find in a museum, rather the audience that passes by in the streets. It was totally different and people would stop by to ask ‘Who’s this guy?’ And that’s how they first discovered my work. I really loved that moment where my work started to be known by a larger community of people.

Outside nature, what would you say fuels your creativity? For example, are there any processes you use to figure out new ideas or get through creative block?

I don’t have much room for hobbies, but I love gardening because it’s linked to my obsession with flowers. I love the stories that flowers bring to contemporary art and a way to look at nature in a hopeful way.

How do you balance client work with personal projects? Is there a line you draw between the two or do you usually treat both in the same light?

I treat them the same, but there is always a difference in rhythm. When I work on a site-specific project for a city, it can take five-to-ten years to realize it. When I work on a museum show, it usually happens every two years. Fairs usually happen two or three times a ear and when I do a commission, it can be very fast or long. For example, this Hennessy project took two years to develop the idea and get in connection with the brand, what they expect and what they want me to tell. It was really interesting and I loved the back-and-forth. I’m an artist of dialogue.

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

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Courtesy Of Jean Michel Othoniel And Petit Palais, Kukje Gallery, Perrotin, Sara Hildén Art Museum And Estudio Em Obra And Simões De Assis

What is the process like to create one of your smaller sculptural beaded artworks?

That series was born after visiting a flower festival in Japan. I was really inspired by the shape of flowers, so I started to draw for months to realize what I would do with it. My gallery offered me a show in Japan and it provided me with the opportunity to present the works I had in mind. Overall, it took me six months to realize the concept from idea to realization.

Walk us through your partnership with Hennessy, from the heritage of the famed Cognac brand and what you two aimed to achieve through this collaboration?

I was totally free to do what I wanted.

I wanted to go back to Cognac itself, the city where it’s born and learn how they developed this beverage to begin with. I wanted to see how people were working, the rhythm, the energy from the ground where the wine was born. I met the wood carvers for the barrels and they have such an amazing technique. It provided me with a solid foundation to work from, learning that the beverage matures many years in the wood and takes on the flavors of the wood itself.

For my sculpture, I wanted to create a sculpture that pays homage to the carvers and show the many complexities within the beverage and amplify that through my work.

With a brand over 250 years old, what was your conceptual approach to upholding its heritage, while staying true to your own artistic voice?

I love history. I love to connect with the past and find new ways to tell old stories. I did that with the sculpture at the Versailles Gardens. That was another one of the crazy moments within my life — making a link with Louis XIV. I discovered at that time that I am an artist of continuity and not an artist of fracture. So working with a brand like Hennessy with such a storied history was filled with pleasure for me.

What are some projects or exhibitions we can look forward to in the future?

I have an upcoming exhibition at the Long Museum in Shanghai — my first show in China. I have another project in Brazil at a beautiful museum built by Oscar Niemeyer, but also a very difficult space to plan for. So I will transform the space into a planetarium, an homage to the stars. Then I have an enormous project next summer in the South of France in Avignon, where I’ll be having a show at nine museums at the same time. There will be 200 pieces across the cities. It will be the biggest moment in my career.

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