Designer of the year 2022: Studio BISKT
This year's Designer of the Year 2022 title goes to Charlotte Gigan and Martin Duchêne, the duo behind Studio BISKT. The Brussels-based design studio is being lauded for their innovative designs that push the boundaries of ceramics. In a unique way, they bring craft and industry together. The prize has now been awarded for the 17th time by the magazines Knack Weekend & Le Vif Weekend and the Biennale Interieur. Partners of the prize are the Design Museum Gent, CID Grand-Hornu, Design Museum Brussels and MAD Brussels.
About Studio BISKT
Studio BISKT was founded in Brussels in 2018 by Charlotte Gigan and Martin Duchêne. Both studied at La Cambre in Brussels. She obtained her master's degree in ceramics there, he his master's degree in industrial design. As ceramicists and product developers, the duo designs objects that are on the border between art and design.
Charlotte and Martin pay particular attention to the way their objects are created. In doing so, they use ingenious and technical manufacturing processes to give industrial products a artisanal character. Studio BISKT concentrates on one particular technique, namely pottery extrusion. In this process, a ceramic paste is pressed through a profile of different shapes. In doing so, they work with different materials such as stoneware, porcelain or pottery.
The objects - such as vases and benches - produced by Studio BISKT are all unique, even though they are made in series. The many experiments lead to new shapes and functions playing with familiar architectural and industrial forms. The shapes are often inspired by an urban aesthetic such as gears or bricks. They also make their own glazes and research their own recipe for pottery, derived entirely from Brussels excavations. Besides objects, they also experiment more and more with spatial interventions.
About Designer of the Year
The Designer of the Year is an initiative of Knack Weekend & Le Vif Weekend magazines and the Biennale Interieur. The prize was first awarded in 2006 to highlight Belgian design talent. The list of winners includes such names as Vincent Van Duysen, Muller Van Severen, Sep Verboom, Nedda El-Asmar and Sylvain Willenz. Meanwhile, the title is being awarded for the 17th time. This year, the jury consisted of journalist Amelie Rombauts, Caroline Fiers of the Biennale Interieur, Evelien Bracke of the Design Museum Gent, Marie Pok of CID Grand-Hornu, Arnaud Bozzini of the Design Museum Brussels and Dieter Van Den Storm of MAD Brussels.
For more information or interview requests, please contact: