Jean-Michel Othoniel is an alchemist of beauty. Under his control, delicate and not so delicate materials become statements of emotion, resilience, and connection. The French artist, whose poetic vision has earned him widespread international acclaim, has a particular talent for transforming fragile, luminous glass into enduring works of art.
Born in 1964 in Saint-Étienne, France, Othoniel originally trained as a painter before moving towards sculpture in the early 1990s. His career took a pivotal turn in 1992 when he began incorporating sulfur and molten glass into his works.
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
These early experiments, first presented at Documenta IX, reflected his fascination with transformation—how heat and pressure could transmute raw materials into something extraordinary.
Over the years, Othoniel’s work has embraced this alchemical ethos, using glass as a metaphor for human emotion. While his earlier works—ropes of vibrantly colored orbs, jewel-like baubles cascading in gravity-defying loops—have an undeniable sensuality, his glass brick installations speak to permanence and possibility, seeming to defy the heaviness of their form, appearing instead almost as jewelry-like sculptures.
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
In Othoniel’s hands, glass - a material traditionally associated with cold functionality - takes on an otherworldly glow, becoming a radiant object of contemplation, fusing minimalism with sensuality.
In his Contemporary Artist Series book, published by Phaidon, Othoniel tells the art historian and writer Gay Gassman how his fascination with bricks began on a visit to India where he saw piles on the side of roads, collected then stored there by people who dreamed of building their own house one day. “I saw them as piles of hopes and dreams,” he explains in the book.
Othoniel was in the country as a guest of the French embassy who had facilitated his meeting with the world of Indian glassmakers.
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
“It’s such an intense job because they still blow glass as they did 2,000 years ago, using a very primitive technique,” the artist says in the book. “I was travelling with my Swiss glassmaker, Matteo Gonet, who was familiar with the technique, and who enabled us to converse with the glass blowers, despite our cultural differences.”
“The blowers belong to a specific caste; it’s difficult for us to understand the implications of this. We had to build the dialogue, the trust. The one thing that really cleared the way for our relationship was when Matteo took the blowpipe from the glassmaker and blew on it to demonstrate what I meant.”
“This intimate gesture of blowing on their pipes, of putting his lips where they put their lips, created a very close relationship between us and opened all the doors.”
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
Othoniel's new Artspace edition, Untitled, 2024 is a perfect example of the artist's sensual approach.
It is a variable edition of 20, made from mirrored glass and is launched in collaboration with the New Orleans Museum of Art. It measures 8.7 x 4.8 x 4.5 inches, weighs 5.5 lbs, and is engraved with the edition number and the artist’s signature. It is priced $6,500.
“My brick is not transparent but reflects the light by way of the mirror within it,” Othoniel says. The image comes first, then I do my best to shape it. I want it to remain sensual, poetic. I don’t want it just to respond to my questions or calculations."
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
Proceeds from the sale of the limited edition will directly benefit the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and its Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden.
The Museum opened in 1911, making it the city’s oldest fine arts institution. Today it boasts a collection in excess of 50,000 pieces, with a focus on French and American art, photography, glass, and African and Japanese works. NOMA’s twelve-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is one of the most important sculpture installations in the U.S., with over 90 sculptures situated on a beautifully landscaped site. You can read more about NOMA on our partnership page here.
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL - Untitled, 2024
Meanhile, Othoniel just opened a new solo show, featuring 25 large scale works, at the Museo Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil and is working on 3 new solo shows for 2025, at the Long Museum Shanghai, in April, and at La Malmaison museum in Cannes, France in May. He is also preparing his biggest exhibition ever for the city of Avignon, France in June 2025 where he will take over 10 museums with more than 200 works. Othoniel is represented by three galleries: Perrotin, Kukje, and Simoes de Assis.
