Landy Rakoto has set up her workshop in a dreamlike landscape in the heart of the Vallée de la Loire, south of Paris. In the attic of a house located on the grounds of the Château de Brissac, the French-Malagasy ceramist creates everyday objects that are as rustic as they are poetic. In collaboration with the Goodmoods Galerie, she talks about her love of shapes, her first blue and red plastic potter’s wheel and her desire for wilderness.
Any childhood memory that impact your work?
“I often think back to my grandparents’ house in Madagascar. Built in the 1960s, this building with its intense reddish-brown walls and lush vegetation of bright green, Italian marble floors, precious wooden furniture designed by my grandmother in the style of Charlotte Perriand, housed numerous books and other small ancient art objects. All these details and atmosphere still inspire me today.”
How did your creative sensitivity manifest itself?
“After my studies in London, I became passionate about the world of Luxury and its artisanal crafts: I was drawn to well-made objects and beautiful materials. Artisanship plays a major role in this field and it interested me. I worked for several years for prestigious companies where I had the opportunity to meet passionate and inspiring architects who sparked my interest in design.”
Why did you decide to drop everything to go to Berlin?
“I was born in Paris, stayed there for a long time, and needed a change of scenery! The office life was becoming monotonous, and I craved something else. I was part of an association that organised music festivals, and I wanted to create a project of my own and devote myself to it 100%. Music is a medium that resonates deeply with me, and Berlin is a vibrant city. When I moved there in 2018, I was finally able to fully embrace creativity.”
At what point did ceramics resurface in your life?
“The pandemic made my life as a musician complicated. Deprived of concerts and festivals, I wanted to experiment with other forms of expression. Learning to work with clay on a wheel had been on my mind for a while. After the lockdown, I joined a community studio and ceramics became a form of obsession. I was there every day, always with my nose in the clay and books. It was a sort of revelation!”
What did you like and still like about ceramics?
“I find it very exciting to create objects that are both beautiful and functional, while continuously discovering new techniques. There are so many of them, requiring specific tools or clay textures. I still have so much to learn! For now, I take the most pleasure in working on the wheel. I love the repetition of the gesture, the fluid and mesmerizing aspect of it.”
How did you get started?
“Then, I worked in Jérémy Bellina’s studio, who taught me how to manage a production workshop from A to Z and gave me the skills and confidence to go out on my own. At that time, I was able to collaborate with Nella Beljan and present my first pieces in her gallery in Kreuzberg.”
After 3 years in Berlin, you set up your workshop on the banks of the Loire, in France.
“On our way back from Berlin, my husband and I wanted to be surrounded by nature. We settled in a dependency located in the gardens of the Château de Brissac on the banks of the Loire. It’s an incredible place, hidden in a green setting. Under the wooden framework of the time and in a skylight, I placed my pottery wheel. It’s this timelessness that charmed me, and that I try to convey in my objects, always with the idea of letting beauty express itself through imperfections.”
How do form and function interact in your objects?
“Since the beginning, I have always been driven by the intention of balance between form and function. Finding the beauty of form in its potential for use. When I created my Eared coffee cups, I worked with round lines to convey the tenderness and warmth that a morning coffee can evoke. The object is distinguished by these two balls that fit perfectly between the fingers. I always try to bring a singularity, something surprising in the form, and balanced in the function.”
What is your color palette?
“Intuitively, I tend to gravitate towards browns, creams, and greens, always in a soft palette. Organic and natural colors always seem more timeless to me. I add some texture to them using various methods of applying glazes.”
What are your inspirations?
“The design of my pieces is infused with a deliberately rustic yet modern and warm minimalism. I draw inspiration from the lines of ancient pottery, which I twist with a futuristic touch, as seen in the UFO Vase, which also has a bit of pop art influence. I gravitate towards simple, imperfectly geometric, and unique shapes. I am highly influenced by the philosophy and aesthetics of Wabi Sabi, the work of Marolles artisans, and neolithic pottery, while also being very sensitive to the futuristic and space age aesthetics of 70s interiors. I enjoy navigating through different worlds and narratives, which resonates deeply with my own story.”
Did the collaboration with Goodmoods allow you to explore new playgrounds?
“Yes, indeed. I was eager to explore lighting fixtures and it was the perfect opportunity. Camille is a tall lamp with a handcrafted stoneware base that takes the lines of my UFO vase, whose retro-futuristic shape evokes an ancient spaceship. I declined it in an intense forest green for a slightly pop touch or in an amber brown for a more rustic style. The lampshade is handcrafted from woven cotton.”
The collaboration is available online!
A creative that you admire?
Brooklyn flat by interior designer Kim Mupangilaï © Gabriel Flores
“Kim Mupangilai: a Belgian-Congolese interior designer and designer based in New York. In her Brooklyn apartment, I really like her selection of vintage Western and African pieces. The shades of different woods and other raw materials such as the stones that make up the bed feet give a particularly soothing atmosphere to this interior.”
Eco-responsible house in raw earth in Marseille designed by Marine Bonnefoy © François Coquerel
“Marine Bonnefoy, an architect based between Paris and Marseille whose work with forms, materials, and colors I really admire. She recently designed an ecological house made of raw earth.”
Eco-responsible house in raw earth in Marseille designed by Marine Bonnefoy © François Coquerel
Which Instagram accounts inspire you?
Is there a movie or music video set that particularly caught your eye?
“I was particularly struck by the set of The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson (2014), especially the hotel lobby with the faded greens and oranges on one side, which give it that old-fashioned feel, and on the other hand, the large marble columns that bring this organic touch, which is essential in my opinion in an interior.”
