Juan Pablo Molyneux: An Exclusive Interview To This Devout Classicist – In today’s article, LUXXU Blog will help you to know Juan Pablo Molyneux, an internationally renowned interior designer. He is a fervent classicist who creates bright interiors with historical roots that aren’t historical recreations. His work is bold, diverse, funny, and clearly his own. Molyneux’s favorite countries are France and the United States. Paris has always been one of the designer’s favorite cities.

Who Is Juan Pablo Molyneux?

Every day is different for him, since he considers himself fortunate to be doing the best work in the world. His team and he get to explore numerous worlds, styles, and eras depending on the project. “One day it will be eighteenth-century Russia or Mughal-period India, the next day it will be the Golden Age of French furniture, and the next day it will be the most exquisite modernity.” My personal taste and my manner of mixing materials, textures, colors, and works of art are the only things that connect different styles and eras of design.

The key is to know how to bring everything together in harmony, to create a dialogue between the many parts of a setting, such as when we organize a dinner and carefully select our guests, some serious, some humorous,” he explained. When asked about his job, Juan Pablo Molyneux stated that because of the wide range of assignments entrusted to him, his work is always challenging. This variety keeps him from doing the same thing over and over again, making it the best antidote to boredom.

“Of course, my own person remains the same denominator across all projects, but each project stimulates me, adjusts my approach, and allows me to find new universes.” Juan Pablo Molyneux continued. Juan’s initiatives always spark his imagination, and the problems he faces force him to come up with fresh solutions, based on his previous expertise and hobbies. He is also pushed out of his comfort zone by the variety of clients, each with their own tastes, lifestyle, and culture.

“For example, if my client has an established collection of Old Master paintings, that will inevitably impact the project in its very composition. If he is crazy about racehorses or if he is a music lover, I will infuse the project with these particular components, use them as a leitmotif in the symphony.”

– JUAN PABLO MOLYNEUX

Juan Pablo Molyneux has virtually accomplished everything in life by building a terrific profession. He proudly argues that the voyage was lengthy and will continue, and that any experience in a man’s life has meaning and influences his present and future, and that his nation of origin is one of them. “Chile is the country of my birth and my family, therefore it holds a special place in my heart.” Having said that, I have always traveled extensively, dating back to my childhood. I moved to Paris at the age of 20 to finish my studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Ecole du Louvre.

I even went on a coming-of-age road trip in what was then known as the Soviet Union! Following that, I worked for a few years in Argentina at a design firm that I founded there, before moving to New York and founding J.P. Molyneux Studio, Ltd., which still exists today. I was thrilled to become an American citizen after only a few years. I also launched my firm’s Paris office more than 20 years ago. As you can see, I am unconcerned with boundaries because I consider myself a global citizen.” Juan nodded. Also, when asked about his objectives, Juan Pablo Molyneux said that if invited, he would cheerfully beautify the Mars colony.

As you may know, Molyneux has surrounded himself with an exclusive group of artisans. The “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – M. O. F.” (“Best Workers of France”) or the “Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant – E. P. V.” (“Living Heritage Companies”), both official badges produced by the French Ministry of Culture, are frequently seen throughout Paris. Molyneux is a member of the Board of Directors of major private heritage organizations such as The World Monuments Fund, The French Heritage Society, and The American Friends of Versailles, and they collaborate on major restoration projects of historical monuments such as Versailles, Fontainebleau, the Louvre, Loire castles, and Middle Ages cathedrals like Notre Dame de Paris.

They gather cash to support restoration initiatives for various historic monuments around the world, not just in France. “As part of my personal devotion to cultural and artistic legacy, I work with the same craftspeople.” Many of these artisans and artists have been able to create satellite ateliers in the United States as a result of my New York office opening the American market to them. These artisans instilled in me the values of perfection, refusal of mediocrity, and patience, as their time is not “our time.” “Their unrivaled knowledge and talents are built on a solid foundation of centuries-old skills and procedures,” he said.

His greatest pride is in assisting in the transmission of this exceptional craftsmanship to future generations, and he is especially delighted when he sees 20-year-old apprentices working on his project sites. He said, “They are the live future of these centuries-old traditions and crafts.”

Interior design, like any other creative process, is susceptible to the vagaries of fashion and fleeting fads, which are driven by what the industry refers to as “trends.” All of this is perfectly natural, and it’s all part of the universal and very human yearning for change and creativity. It also has a substantial economic impact, stimulating the sector’s market and providing opportunity to offer new ideas. When asked about the current trend, Juan Pablo Molyneux expressed his dissatisfaction with how, in the name of the latest fashion, the end of tradition is once again declared and everyone praises the new trends to the sky, presenting them as the actual future of interior design.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how fleeting these “futures” are! A fresh trend rarely lasts longer than ten years, and a finished project might swiftly become outdated and boring. A cursory scan of the specialty press from the last few years, which is a decent representation of current trends, yields numerous examples. This dispute, I feel, will go on indefinitely, so it’s probably better to keep your cool.
My true passion is for something more timeless. Quality and perfection, in my opinion, are considerably more significant than these manufactured and somewhat sterile justifications. Any good product has the ability to stand out from the crowd by default, and so has no need for fashion.” He elaborated.

Refusing to either forget or reject the past, as long as it is of acceptable quality, he explains that there is enough room for everyone. “I am not unambiguous, and I enjoy creating extremely varied universes from project to project.” I will blend styles, periods, colors, and materials within a single project. The harmony of the whole and the balance between these components are the sole arbiters. I create rooms for modern men and women who are completely aware of their age. Instead of reconstructing, I evoke. To provide the greatest service to my clients, I work with excellence, both old and new. True modernism and tradition have no fundamental incompatibility. It’s striking how much the most cutting-edge contemporary art looks best in a classical context. Why do you continually oppose instead of trying to bring people together?”

What Do You Think Of Juan Pablo Molyneux So Far?

The term ‘ensemblier,’ which describes an overall approach to interior design, is ideal for him since it conveys the true essence of their work, juxtaposition and combination. Nothing, in his opinion, is worse than faux modernity, which he considers to be the most conformist and uninteresting thing on the planet. “You can’t dismiss innovation any more than you can ignore the past.” This is frequently used to conceal anything. On the one hand, a lack of culture; on the other, an inability to recognize the diversity of living art and contemporary originality. Personally, I have opted to remain open to all possibilities. “I want to be able to move freely from one to the other without any restrictions on my ideas,” he added.

This sense of continuity also allows Juan Pablo Molyneux to contribute to the preservation and, above all, the transmission of the primary craft industries through his designs, something of which he is very proud. However, tradition does not prevent the employment of new technology in this case. The craft industries are fully open to new synthetic materials and innovative procedures like as CAD-CAM and laser cutting. This ongoing conversation between tradition and innovation ensures the high-quality goods that have become a major contributor to our economy. The craft sector, described in France as a “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” or “Living Heritage Company,” now has its own official label (E. P. V.) and is experiencing remarkable success on the export market, helping to counter the influx of low-quality, low-value products.

“The French luxury goods industry has built its fine international reputation on the highest quality standards and a culture of excellence. It continues to go from strength to strength and its expertise and top-quality products are the envy of the world.”

– JUAN PABLO MOLYNEUX

There is no specific rules in terms of clientele; Juan Pablo Molyneux claims that for every ten clients, there will be ten completely different personalities with their own individual histories, sensitivities, desires, and requests. That is what makes his job so interesting. Every day is different. “I believe I have the best work in the world since it allows me to be constantly culturally enriched and open to new influences.” You work on neoclassical Russia one day, French châteaux the next, and Palladian villas the day after next. This constant mobility of the soul motivates us all to be more creative and original in my offices. One of the secrets to a good endeavor is to enjoy what you’re doing.” he said.

In terms of his customer relationships, he is constantly available and accommodating with clients from the first contact, placing a high value on this availability. He understands that the majority of his clients are busy people who do not have time to spend. “I always request that they email me the plans and images so that I can get a sense of the project before we meet.” Then, in most cases, I want to go to the customer’s location and meet with him to get to know each other and start a dialogue that will provide me with useful insights into what the client is looking for and how far he has developed his requirements.”

After this conversation, a contract is drawn up for the project’s initial general design phase. Juan Pablo Molyneux must then submit a proposal by submitting the project’s broad drawings as well as certain elevations that allow him to create two or three “Renderings” of the main parts. These color perspectives are quite near to the final product in terms of color, material rendering, furniture, fabrics, and so on. Customers of Molyneux are frequently astounded to find how closely the final product matches the renderings he gave a few months prior.

For a project to be entirely successful, I anticipate a client to be motivated and to have made a decision regarding my recommendations by the end of the proposal process. Nothing is more annoying than indecisive people. Of course, revisions are always feasible as long as they do not affect the project’s primary lines, or foundations, as he put it.

As a global citizen, Molyneux approaches each project with a wide-ranging curiosity about all things lovely. His rooms have a distinct sense of place to them. They’re the outcome of a lengthy conversation with the client. They’ve been constructed with great care. With more than four decades of expertise, he absorbs, interprets, and reinterprets the past in his work, leaving a legacy that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.