Pietro Seminelli

Folder

©Eric Chenal

©Jacques Boulay

The art of folding

Pietro is interested in all that a fold can express
His textile art also extends to paper and ceramics
He comes from a family of seamstresses

There is no mistaking the passion behind Pietro Seminelli’s work as he talks of his background, inspiration, and journey to becoming a master artisan: literature, personal experiences, sculpture and art, and creative exploration. A fascinating narrative which culminates in his intrigue for folds: the closing and opening, the volume and its possibilities, the interplay between the hidden and revealed aspects. Seminelli’s pleat and fold-based textile designs are more than a technical accomplishment, they are the result of his philosophy, his love for the Baroque, and a continuing investigation of his art, his craft, and its relationship to the world and the designers and brands he works with.

Interview

©Jacques Boulay

©Jacques Boulay

How did you start folding?: I was trained in woodwork and cabinetmaking and I come from a family of seamstresses; my own interests sent me first to the theatre, to scenography and costume design. This all brought me to an art degree, and eventually to “the fold”.
What was one of your first creations?: For my final school project on the art of the table, I created an entire scene for Madame Butterfly. The question for this work was how to transform a flat surface into one with volume. It was a great puzzle and in it I discovered folding and its many vocabularies.
How do you describe your approach?: I focused early on sculpture, on the tension between the smooth exterior and the hidden interior. In a similar way, I’m interested in more than just folding – I want to explore folding in literature, in music. In folding, re-folding, unfolding.
What does well made signify to you?: When, as an artist, I feel inhabited by the work. When I want to say something. There has to be a particular vibration and the message inside the piece will change from one moment to the next. There is something alive about this process and result.

Pietro Seminelli is a master artisan: he began his career in 1996 and he started teaching in 2005