Bisa Studio, a Maison d’edition and Creative Studio founded by Marta Jurado Chagnaud and Louis Chagnaud, is all about storytelling. Both designers had international upbringings, and their formative years included periods in Spain, France, and Indonesia. Through their travels, the couple has met artisans from diverse cultures, harnessing design to share narratives from creatives around the world.
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- Bisa Studio founders Marta Jurado Chagnaud and Louis Chagnaud
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- Bisa Studio’s bespoke objects most of Bisa Studio’s pieces only have one edition.
Marta was born in Madrid and educated in Paris. Louis left France to study business in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Both came to Indonesia to nourish their spirituality, where they met and became collaborators in art and life. Through Bisa Studio, the Chagnauds and their collaborators experiment with typical Indonesian materials like rattan, blown glass, and ceramics, but instead of mastering traditional techniques, they push themselves to experiment with media and form. This allows them to focus more on the story each object is trying to tell, whether it’s through curvy wood that takes on the personality of ocean waves, or crocheting brass to tell a poem.
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- Roots Chair by Garance Vallée is as much a map as it is a throne
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- Moisès Tibau’s Cavera I, made from enameled clay, keeps champagne cold.
Roots Chair, by Garance Vallée, illustrates this through its unusual silhouette. Made from Balinese wood, the seat has a high backrest with a curved hole cut through it. It’s as if one has an aerial view of a lake, the hollow water surrounded by wooded forest. The legs, resembling mountains, are mounted at opposing angles, disrupting the object’s balance when viewed head on, but the profile reveals that it is quite sturdy. It’s as much a map as it is a throne.
The Coral Blanc series, designed by Moises Tibau, raises awareness about coral bleaching. The white, v-shaped clay sculpture is inspired by the forms of sickly coral reefs in Cap de Creus canyon, where Moises learned about the issue from lobster fishers. Without healthy coral, biodiversity declines, which shrinks the food supply for island nations. While beautiful, Coral Blanc warns us about the fragility of marine life.
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- GFP Daybed and GFP Armchair are a collaboration between Garance Vallée and Franck Pellegrino.
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- The GFP collaboration have large letters inspired by American colleges that emblazon their monograms across letterman jackets.
More stories are told through upholstery on the GFP Daybed and GFP Armchair. For the daybed, Franck Pellegrino collected fabric on his travels, and collaborated with Garance to fit them around cushions on a dark, teakwood frame that extends out into a side table. Both pieces incorporate large letters inspired by American colleges that emblazon their monograms across letterman jackets. Whether it’s the origin of the fabric or a nod to collegiate culture, every material shares an adventurous memory.
Bisa’s most intricate works lean into Indonesian craft. The Braided Shelves are entirely hand woven in rattan. Similarly, Marta’s series Poème géométrique, which reminds us of Ruth Asawa’s looped-wire sculptures, employs crochet to tell stories with light and shadow. Like most of Bisa Studio’s pieces, these bespoke objects only have one edition. Similar to personal narratives, they can only share the creator’s experience once.
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- Bisa Studio shares narratives from creatives around the world
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- Marta Jurado Chagnaud’s pieces Poème géométrique employs crochet to tell stories with light and shadow.
Last March, the studio, based in Madrid, exhibited pieces by their four designers at Atelier Lardeur in Paris. Bisa continues their international ventures, combining cultures and creativity everywhere they go.
