Brett Gradel

Brett is an artist I discovered when he exhibited for a few days at the municipal hall in Eze Village in 2024. His work fascinated me; I had never seen anything like it before.

He works with his favorite raw material, wood, and creates works using a technique known as “fusion” marquetry. By assembling dozens of different types of wood by hand, he produces contemporary compositions that are sometimes cubist, sometimes more figurative.

A tennis fan, he has created works featuring Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He recently completed a commission for the clubhouse of the Garden Tennis Club in Monaco, host of the famous Masters 1000 tournament. His work caught the attention of Prince Albert I, who himself commissioned a piece for the Prince’s Palace.

This season, I invite you to discover two of his creations that reflect the breadth of his work: L’adieu du marin (The Sailor’s Farewell), a cubist composition made from more than 10 types of wood, and Naufragés (Shipwrecked), a mixed composition of fusion marquetry and layered wood, with abalone mother-of-pearl and gold leaf inserts. These works represent hundreds of hours of work…