Le Corbusier is Translated to Stone in “Fragments”

Le Corbusier has inspired hundreds of thousands upon thousands of architects and designers. His work across design, architecture, and urban planning is marked by a visual and philosophical consistency that gives him his status as a father of modern architecture. So, it is rare that an inspired designer is able to create something that truly feels like an aesthetic and typographic match—yet designer Anthony Guerrée achieves this in “Fragments,” a collection of marble objects and creations currently on display at La Fondation Le Corbusier’s headquarters at Maison La Roche.

Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret designed Maison La Roche in 1923-35 as a combination gallery and home for art collector Raoul La Roche. It displays Le Corbusier’s “Five Points of a New Architecture” with the open facade, open plan, long windows, roof garden and pillars.

Presented by M éditions, “Fragments” invites visitors to explore the Maison, paying special attention to the marble works considerately placed throughout. Anthony’s sculptures explore both Le Corbusier’s work as well as Greek architecture. “To work with marble is to investigate history,” Anthony says. He opened his studio in 2020, designing furniture in a variety of materials. Marble gave him the opportunity to investigate his inspiration from the past.

The marble interior architects at Les Marbreries de la Seine entrusted Anthony with leftover pieces of marble, sourced in France and Northern Italy, that were too small for their use. With the help of their master marble workers, Anthony was able to create the tiniest details and precise lines in the pieces. “I design for the volume, color, and visual qualities each marble presents,” Anthony says. He starts with what he is given, basically a hunk of leftover material, too small for interior architecture. He then sketches and refers to his sources of inspiration to determine its final form. “Each is designed to use the maximum of the block,” he says.

It is a testament to the honesty of this inspiration that the marble pieces work so well in their temporary home at Maison La Roche, as Anthony designed them without the context of the space and only brought them to the Maison later. From the scale of the objects, to the colors and qualities they present, to the play of light and shadow on their surfaces, they look like they belong.

This is the Fondation’s first time exhibiting designs in Maison La Roche. “Fragments” leaves Maison La Roche on Sep. 27.

Photo by Alexandre Tabaste, courtesy of FLC/ADAGP