Victor Muzet Herrström
- Jan 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 30
Victor Muzet Herrström is based between Paris, Tours, and Auvergne. He grew up in a family of artists and started out in graphic and product design before moving into metal work. His pieces often begin as simple lines drawn on paper, which he then bends by hand from flat sheets of metal, focusing on balance, light, and how shadows fall as you move around the object. Music is a constant part of his life and thinking. This interest in rhythm and movement guides how he builds each piece.
Q: What made you want to turn drawn lines into physical objects in the first place?
A: My first object, made from bent sheet metal and conceived as a line extrusion, was created during a design preparation project aimed at producing a coffee table for students. Music is essential in my life (I have played solo, with bands, organized concerts, produced records, etc.), and the idea behind this line was to recreate the spectrogram of a sound in 3D, to give it a new dimension and a new form depending on where you stand when looking at the object, as you move around it. This extruded line was adjacent to a mirror that reflected it, thus creating a new shape. The shape of the sheet’s reflection is always different from the shape of the sheet itself, depending on where you stand. Moreover, the light and shadows, the shapes and counter-shapes that arise will always be different depending on the viewpoint and the light source. From the moment I became aware that the eye and light could transform a simple line into a multitude of images, I decided to pursue this path further.
Q: How do you decide which line is strong enough to become a folded metal form?
A: For the creative part, I start with a line drawn on paper, but I quickly move on to the material and the bender, because it’s easier to grasp the proportions and how this shape interacts with the space, as well as the shadows it will create. Once my sheet is bent, I sometimes realize that I’m not on the right track, and then I redraw or even abandon the idea because the result strays too far from the aesthetic I’m aiming for. I can’t forget the practical aspect either, because most of the objects I create serve a useful purpose in addition to their aesthetic appeal. Therefore, the line has to be strong both aesthetically and physically; the object must be stable and functional.
Q: Light shifts across the metal while you’re working. What do you focus on when that happens?
A: When that happens, deep down, it excites me because it’s partly due to this reflection phenomenon that I chose metal as my preferred material. But I can’t let myself get distracted because precision is crucial when I’m making pieces. I absolutely need to stay focused on my measuring tools, because a quarter of a millimeter too much or too little can make the object unstable.
Q: Your sculptures come from simple metal sheets. What usually guides the first bend you make?
A: The very first fold often defines the point of stability or anchoring for the object. The second fold starts to outline the shape or drawing. As the work progresses, the design begins to take shape, but throughout the process, some folds will be guided again by the search for stability and practicality in the final piece. Then it’s back to the aesthetic aspect, and so on.
Q: Working by hand with metal can be both precise and intuitive. How do you balance those while creating a piece?
A: As mentioned earlier, in my practice, I oscillate between a creative, visual, aesthetic, and intuitive aspect and a useful, practical, stable, and precise aspect. The goal of my work is for the final piece to be beautiful and proportionally aesthetic, but also useful, functional, and, of course, structurally stable. I have a creative mind, but I’m also very logical and pragmatic, an aspect that is at the heart of this idea of a line transforming into an object.
Q: When you’re working on a form, what tells you it’s ready?
A: When I start a piece intuitively, I work with rough measurements. When the form appeals to me in terms of proportions, when the shapes and counter-shapes are harmonious, and when the resulting shadow seems interesting, I move on to the step where I redraw, measure, and calculate so that I can recreate the object precisely. The goal is to create a functional sculpture.
