The 2021 Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'intelligence de la main® - Dialogues was awarded to Grégory Rosenblat, porcelain maker and ceramist, and Nicolas Lelièvre and Florian Brillet, designers, for their collective work Aotsugi, a project combining tradition, sustainability and theoretical reflection on urban space.

Aotsugi is a group of 20 porcelain pieces inspired by Japanese kintsugi, permanently installed in downtown Limoges. Kintsugi is an age-old technique that makes repairing an art in its own right by using delicate fine gold joints to restore porcelain by highlighting its cracks. The Aotsugi project uses porcelain as a repair material, filling in the city’s interstices, gaps and empty spaces.

Nicolas Lelièvre says the work is not an obligatory route and does not have a message. It was designed as an occasional invitation to look at the city in a different way. Aotsugi emerges from reality and offers a fresh look at everyday life by seeking to express the dual nature of public space, which is perceived both collectively and individually. Florian Brillet says Aotsugi is the result of an intellectual game, the desire to play against the grain with porcelain, which is supposedly fragile but reveals unexpected strength.

  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • © Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

“Aotsugi offers Limoges a beautiful, relevant and surprising work.”

Pierre HerméPastry chef, member of the 2021 jury

Grégory Rosenblat, porcelain engineer

Grégory Rosenblat acquired international experience as a research and development engineer in the field of technical polymers before taking over Ateliers Arquié, a porcelain factory in Limoges, which he has managed since 2009. He has diversified innovative applications to integrate all the know-how complementary to manufacturing porcelain into the company.

©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

  • 2009 Creation of Ateliers Arquié

Nicolas Lelièvre, architect listening to reality

Florian Brillet was trained as an architect. He set up his own studio in London to focus on lighting design, art installations and architectural projects. At the same time, he and Nicolas Lelièvre developed an in-situ design process on an urban scale. Florian is interested in the form of objects and the uses of spaces.

©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

Florian Brillet, a different view of urban space

Trained architect Nicolas Lelièvre has worked as a designer since 2003. Working with Florian Brillet, he designs objects that put our use of urban spaces into perspective. More generally, Nicolas takes a personal approach where each project tries to call our perceptions and images of reality into question.

© Alun Callender

  • 2015 Creation of his studio in London

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