Nicolas Pinon is one of the few plant-based lacquer artists in France. Trained in cabinetmaking at the École Boulle, he discovered Japanese Urushi lacquer by chance in 2003 and decided to devote himself to it fully. He trained in Barcelona, ​​then joined the Brugier workshop in Paris, where he restored and created decorations for international projects.
Passionate about this ancient material extracted from the sap of an Asian tree, he deepened his expertise in Japan in 2006, working with the great master Nagatoshi Onishi. There, he learned the kanshitsu technique, used to create statues for Buddhist temples. This immersive training gave him an intimate understanding of lacquer, both in its technical rigor and its spiritual dimension.
Back in France, he became an independent lacquer decorator in 2008. He collaborates with design and architecture figures such as Jacques Garcia and Joseph Karam, while developing his own research. In 2017, he took over a master lacquerer's workshop in Paris, on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, where he still works.
His practice is based on patience, repetition, and excellence of technique. Each piece requires time, sometimes up to fifty layers of lacquer, with several weeks of drying time between each. This deliberate slowness runs counter to the contemporary world.
Nicolas Pinon considers lacquering a collaborative craft. Wood, metal, ceramic: his works are often the result of dialogues with other artisans, designers, or artists. This philosophy of sharing is also reflected in his desire to pass on his knowledge: he trains apprentices, teaches at GRETA and the École Boulle, and leads workshops on Japanese know-how. Recipient of several major awards, including the Banque Populaire Foundation, the Young Talents Prize for Artistic Crafts, and most importantly, the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for the Intelligence of the Hand (Dialogues category) in 2020, his work has been recognized for its finesse, depth, and ability to bridge tradition and innovation.
Today, Nicolas Pinon continues to bring vegetable lacquer to life between Paris and Japan, pushing the aesthetic and technical limits of this ancestral material. He champions a sensitive, demanding, and profoundly human approach to artistic crafts.