From Apr 29 to Sep 20
Launched by la Cité du design in September 2023, the Présent >< Futur series supports the emerging French and European design scene through solo exhibitions conceived as spaces for experimentation.
It is within this framework that designer Anaïs Borie has been invited to present Brèches Fertiles (fertile gaps), an exhibition that immerses the visitor in a world where design draws on narrative, fiction and the hybridisation of skills. At the crossroads of craftsmanship, digital technologies and industrial processes, her work explores ‘breaches’ in reality: sensitive zones where stories overlap.
H. 53 cm x W. 32 cm x D. 12 cm
© Alexandre Beltran
The exhibition
Between the tangible world and projections
With Brèches fertiles, Anaïs Borie has conceived an immersive exhibition in which design becomes a tool for fiction and for exploring reality. Drawing on a variety of media—writing, glass, wood, metal, 3D modelling and sound—she employs a hybrid practice based on a constant dialogue between gestures, materials and manufacturing processes. The fictional narrative, at the heart of her approach, allows her to conceive of objects as openings: interpretative spaces paving the way for other ways of perceiving and thinking about the contemporary world.
H. 93 cm x D. 25 cm
© Alexandre Beltran
"A fertile breach is a fissure in reality. A space outside of reality, a sort of otherworld where our imagination runs wild. Here we can dream and project ourselves; these are fabulous places that I use to think about the world in a different way. My objects attempt to open up these breaches: they do not provide answers."
When techniques, styles and worlds come together
The thirty or so works on display draw on the convergence of traditional craftsmanship and precision technology. The art of stained glass, particularly the Tiffany technique, allows for delicate, detailed compositions with organic lines, whilst the use of CNC machine tools ensures a high degree of precision in shaping and assembly. This continuity between manual craftsmanship, industrial tools and contemporary processes is fully realised through a partnership with Tôlerie Forézienne, initiated by la Cité du design as part of the Présent><Futur cycle. A true space for dialogue, this unique collaboration fosters a convergence of knowledge and worlds, where the designer’s sensitive drawings engage with the constraints and potential of industrial production, giving rise to hybrid forms that are both rigorous and poetic.
An archipelago of narrative objects
The exhibition design, conceived as an archipelago with no set route, extends this spirit of openness: it encourages visitors to move freely between the rooms, to forge personal connections and to explore these ‘fertile gaps’—spaces of imagination where possible worlds take shape.
© Alexandre Beltran
Workshop exercise, 2025: applying copper tape to the edges of the glass, a preparatory step for assembly using the Tiffany technique
© Alexandre Beltran
© Alexandre Beltran
About Anaïs Borie
Anaïs Borie is a French designer who graduated from Ésad Saint-Étienne — the Saint-Étienne School of Art and Design — and the Design Academy Eindhoven, where she obtained a Master’s degree in Contextual Design in 2019. Her approach combines traditional craftsmanship, digital technologies, the humanities and fictional writing. She is particularly interested in the notion of technical progress and how it can become the catalyst for fantastical and speculative narratives. A finalist in the Grand Prix Design Parade 13 at the Villa Noailles in 2018, she is also the first artist-in-residence supported by the Fonds für Junges Design at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (MK&G) in Hamburg. This context enabled her to develop The Intimacy of a Cyber-Opera Singer, a sensory experience blending light, sound, scent and song, several works from which now form part of the museum’s permanent collection. Following several international exhibitions and projects, Anaïs Borie chose in 2025 to return to Saint-Étienne, where she continues, in her own studio, artistic research focused on hybrid, sensory and narrative forms.
About Tôlerie Forézienne
Founded in 1922 in the Forez region, Tôlerie Forézienne is an industrial company specialising in sheet metal working. Initially based in Usson-en-Forez before establishing a permanent presence in Bonson, the company developed a recognised expertise in precision sheet metal work from the 1960s onwards, before joining the Poujoulat Group in 1994. Today, the company relies on a fleet of state-of-the-art machinery and production tools, operating notably in the fields of fine sheet metal work and street furniture. In recent years, Tôlerie Forézienne has strengthened its industrial research and development division by integrating design at a very early stage of its projects. It was in this context that a dialogue began with Anaïs Borie, who was keen to experiment with metal from a serial perspective. This partnership allows her to test her quasi-organic designs against industrial constraints — angles, thicknesses, limits of deformation — and to explore how a form can retain its emotional and poetic resonance when produced through industrial processes. From these exchanges between digital modelling, technical expertise and formal intuition emerge hybrid objects, born of a true convergence of the artistic and industrial worlds.
Brèches fertiles, Présent Futur n°5 - Anaïs Borie
29 April – 4 October 2026
Opening on 28 April 2026
Exhibition design: Anaïs Borie
Curated by: Anaïs Borie
La Platine - Cité du design
3 rue Javelin Pagnon
42000 Saint-Étienne
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