For an artwork commissioned by the Breton chef Nicolas Conraux for his restaurant, Aurélia Leblanc and Lucile Viaud combined their expertise to create a glass fabric, glimmering with ever-changing reflections. The piece strikingly evokes a fishing net emerging from the water. This breathtaking piece of art is not only a remarkable technical feat but also a deeply poetic artwork.

The primary material used to create Pêche cristalline is Glaz, a marine glass developed by Lucile Viaud in tribute to the chef and his region. Crafted from abalone shells and micro-algae, it was melted and then worked at high temperatures to produce kilometers-long glass filaments. The duo then wove the filaments through with linen on Aurélia Leblanc's semi-electronic loom, utilizing a pattern generated by software from an original physical drawing, to create a long iridescent drapery of several meters.

As unprecedented as it is spectacular, the Pêche cristalline testifies to a true spirit of innovation and creation, at the core of the identity that unites Lucile Viaud and Aurélia Leblanc, the first female duo to be honored in the Dialogues category of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'Intelligence de la main. Their research paves the way for new possibilities in glass production and application, particularly in industry and engineering. An approach anchored in our contemporary philosophy, concerned with eco-friendly creation in symbiosis with the environment.

"We were captivated by the work of Aurélia Leblanc and Lucile Viaud, which demonstrates both great audacity and a genuine vision. At the crossroads of art and science, 'Pêche cristalline' is first and foremost the result of groundbreaking research that exploits unexpected, untapped resources."

Didier KrzentowskiFounder of Galerie kreo, member of the 2023 Jury

  • Lucile Viaud, designer and Aurélia Leblanc, textile weaver, Dialogues laureates of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'Intelligence de la Main 2023, presenting "Pêche cristalline".
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Géoverres in designer Lucile Viaud's studio.
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Jars containing Glaz marine glass.
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Glass filaments in weaver Aurélia Leblanc's workshop.
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Focus on a glass-weaving piece created by Aurélia Leblanc and Lucile Viaud.
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Focus on a glass-weaving piece created by Aurélia Leblanc and Lucile Viaud.
    © Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

Aurélia Leblanc, Ethical Weaving

A weaver trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Aurélia Leblanc has established herself in her field by mastering various artisanal skills, including weaving, printmaking, screen printing, and embroidery. She has done both manual weaving and worked on an artisanal scale in her flagship workshop, continually experimenting with different fibers and techniques in a pursuit of technical, ethical, and ecological innovation. She met designer Lucile Viaud at the Ateliers de Paris. Both were laureates of the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris. The duo teamed up to collaborate with incredible common goal: weaving glass.

© Julie Limont pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

  • 2015 Graduated with a degree in textile design from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels

  • 2016 Founded the Aurélia Leblanc Atelier, specializing in textile creation and artisanal weaving

  • 2017 Awarded the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in the Art Crafts - Emerging Talent category

  • 2017-2020 Produced pieces, manually weaving for various fashion houses (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Schiaparelli)

  • 2023 Laureate in the Dialogues category of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'Intelligence de la Main, together with Lucile Viaud

Lucile Viaud: an Alchemist Designer

Trained in product design at the École Boulle, Lucile Viaud delves into the intimate connection between landscape and matter in single given territories. She established her workshop, or “géoverrerie” as she calls it, that translates to “geoglassworks,” where she explores discarded materials, which she views as treasures waiting to be sublimated. She is deeply committed to the preservation of our natural resources as well as techniques of traditional craftsmanship. Since 2018, she has been collaborating with the Glass & Ceramics Laboratory at the Institute of Chemical Sciences in Rennes as an artist-researcher. At the Ateliers de Paris she met textile artist and creator Aurélia Leblanc, who, like Lucile, was a laureate of the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris. The duo teamed up to collaborate with incredible common goal: weaving glass.

  • 2015 Graduated with an advanced Diploma in Applied Arts specialized in product design from the École Boulle

  • 2015 Established the Lucile Viaud Atelier, specializing in producing glass from natural resources and local materials

  • 2018 Awarded the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in the Design - Emerging Talent category.

  • 2022 Presented exhibitions "Geoglassworks, from the Brest harbor to the Ponant Islands" in Brest and "Island Earth, In Search of Glass from the Ponant Islands" in Rennes.

  • 2023 Laureate in the Dialogues category of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l’Intelligence de la main together with Aurélia Leblanc.

The Dialogues award of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'intelligence de la main®

The award Dialogues is given to an artisan for a work that displays a perfect command of technique and craftsmanship. It must be innovative and aesthetic but also contribute to progress in the artisan’s area of expertise. 

  • Amount: 50,000€ divided equally between the two winners, i.e. €25,000 each
  • Accompagnement: up to 150,000€, for the winners to carry out experiments, research and innovation on their prototype or object.
All the award-winners