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Bruno Moinard

President Founder

I arrived in Paris in 1972 to attend the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers Art, Olivier de Serres. This was the type of study I was destined for. Born in Dieppe, marked from childhood by the landscapes of Normandy and the Vendée, I had the need from an early age to express, through drawing, my vision of space. Real space as well as dreamed space. The sky, the green expanse, water, contrasts, transparencies, light: for me, this expression occurs through a drawing pitched onto the page, a sketch of dashing lines, liberal splashes of colour that would become my ‘trademark’ and the ambassador of my ideas.

After graduating in 1978, I trained by working on a few building projects and discovered the profession. One day, I had the opportunity to do some freelance work for Andrée Putman, the great designer of the 1980s. Initially hired to execute a few small drawings expected to keep me busy for a few days, I stayed fifteen years at her side within Ecart International, of which I became the creative cornerstone. Together, we renovated and redevised ministerial offices, the interiors of great designer and haute couture boutiques and of the Concorde.

In 1994, felicitous encounters and the desire for freedom made me set out for new horizons. At first solo, then with a small team, I responded, competing against established agencies, to invitations to tender and private commissions. It worked. I forged relationships, an identity, before imposing my brand.

In 1996, I created 4BI, an interior design agency. I had the good fortune to become THE designer of the Cartier boutiques, a project which would take me around the world (470 such showcases exist today). Moreover, the complicity established very early on with François Pinault led me to renovate the Fnac retail chain headquarters and later that of Christie’s, in New York, and the Château Latour vineyards. This kind of loyalty is contagious: many managers entrusted me with their private and business environments. Since then, we have designed, imagined, reconfigured and renovated dozens of luxury hotels, boutiques, department stores, museums, private homes and apartments.

In 2007, I met Claire Bétaille, a graduate of the Écoles du Louvre and Camondo: from the first contact, I appreciated her commitment and her joie de vivre. She was not like the others. I spotted her eye, her gaze, her precision. I hired her. I was right: in 2012, she became my partner. She and I share every project; she is fully part of their conception, realization and follow-through.

A designer – passionately, temperamentally and instinctively – since I first started at Écart International, in 2014 I established Bruno Moinard Éditions, dedicated to the creation and production of furniture and objects. Today, timeless and discreetly luxurious, combining the most beautiful materials, our creations are the subject of an annual collection. Presented in the Rue Jacob flagship store, these collections are present in eleven emblematic cities including New York, Shanghai, Moscow, London, Miami and Vancouver. The ten-person team is a tremendous melting pot, which we combine with top French craftspeople. I am proud to produce 100% French work and to contribute to the sustainability of this industry.

In 2017, I exhibited my pictorial works for the first time in Paris, at the Galerie Diane de Polignac. Drawings, vision and rapid gesture suffice by themselves. I am a painter and I love it: total freedom! With my painting, I want to speak a universal, deep and energetic language. I am delighted that my work is exhibited and increasingly seeks and delves into new realms.

The creation of Moinard Bétaille, in 2020, opens up new perspectives for me. The partnership with Claire Bétaille has grown stronger every year. Our complicity has become a guarantee and our success validates the harmonious, ambitious and long-lasting agency model that I have always wished for. Today, with a forty-five-person team, we welcome commissions from all over the world with enthusiasm, emotion, and as much desire as ever.

Interior architect and designer, born on 4 April 1956 in Dieppe, France
Graduate of the ENSAAMA (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art, Olivier de Serres).

Career

1980 – 1985
Collaborator of Andrée Putman and Jean-François Bodin at Ecart.

1985 – 1995
Director of studies and development at the Andrée Putman agency, Ecart and Ecart International.

Since 1996
Created the 4BI agency, of which he is the founder, president and artistic director.

Since 2014
Launched his furniture line via Bruno Moinard Éditions, of which he is the founder, president and artistic director.

Distinctions, awards and books

2004
Talent de l’Élégance award at the Sommet du Luxe et de la Création.

2007
Member and president of the Dieppe Painters and Sculptors Association.

2007
Silver Medal of the Académie d’Architecture for his career.

2010
Decorated Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

2010
Bruno Moinard, L’Architecte promeneur, Éditions La Martinière.

2015
Bruno Moinard, Du Trait à la Lumière, Éditions La Martinière

The Ecart International years

Stores:
Thierry Mugler, Paris; Yves Saint Laurent, USA; Karl Lagerfeld, Hémisphères, Paris; Barneys, New York; Alaïa, Paris, Melbourne; Ebel, Paris, New York, Milan; Carita, Paris; Balenciaga, Paris; Rech, Paris, London; Charles Kammer, Paris; Corners Tati, Paris; Cacharel children, Barcelona; Connoly, London; Bally, worldwide.

Offices:
Karl Lagerfeld, Paris; Éditions du Regard, Paris; Indréco, Paris; Ebel, New York; Arche de la Défense, Paris; C.A.P.C, Bordeaux; La 7 Arte, Paris; Pastor, Monaco; Exor/Ifint, Paris; Stratorg, Rueil-Malmaison; Ministry of Culture, Paris: office of the Minister of Culture Jack Lang; Ministry of Finance with the architects Chemetov + Huidrobo, Paris-Bercy; Air France headquarters with the architects Pistre & Valode; Bouches du Rhône Regional Council with the architect W. Aslop, Marseille, France.

Factories:
Lacoste, Troyes; Mendès, Angers.

 

Private residences, townhouses:
Karl Lagerfeld, Monaco, Paris, Rome; Michel Guy, Paris; Fred Hugues and Andy Warhol, Paris; André Rousselet, Paris; Didier Grumbach, Paris; Zizi Jeanmaire and Roland Petit, Paris; Christina de Liagre, Paris; Monsieur and Madame Stadsbader, Belgium; Jean-Paul Goude, Paris; Pierre Boulez, Paris.

Apartment of the French President François Mitterrand, Elysée Palace, Paris, in collaboration with Philippe Starck.

Hotels:
Morgans, New York; Hotel Saint James Club, Paris; Im Wasserturm, Cologne; Le Lac Hotel, Tokyo; Sheraton Hotel, Roissy with the architect Paul Andreux.

Restaurants:
French Pavilion for the Universal Exposition with the architects Jean-Paul Viguier and Jean-François Jaudry, Seville; Orchid Club, Kobe; Le Bon Marché, Paris; Café Français at the MOMA, New York; Opium, Tokyo; Hotel Saint James, Paris.

Design:
Concorde for Air France, interior fitting out of five planes.

 

Museums, galleries, foundations:
C.A.P.C with the architects Valode & Pistre, Bordeaux; Ebel – Villa Turque by Le Corbusier, Switzerland; Fondation Cartier with the architect Jean Nouvel, Paris; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen; Isy Brachot, Paris.

Religious buildings:
Primatial de Lyon, France.

Furniture:
Andrée Putman licensing: furniture for 3 Suisses, ‘La Lune’ console and lamp for Lumess, CAPC model bench for Tectona, ‘Rue du Bac’ furniture, ‘Morgans’ basin and taps.

Scenography:
SAD Paris; Ebel, Basel; VIA at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; Ferrari, Fondation Cartier, Jouy-en- Josas; In Black and White, United States.