In my designs, I explore the dialogue between heritage and contemporary form, using craftmanship, materiality and the oval shape as a foundation for infinite creation and discovery.
Born in Belgium in 1998, Camille De Prêtre is an artist and furniture designer working across Bruges, Milan and Los Angeles. Trained in furniture design, she began with functional objects and gradually moved toward sculpture and autonomous work, finding greater freedom in forms that do not need to answer to a fixed use. Her practice now moves fluidly between art, collectible design and interiors, guided by texture, instinct and a strong commitment to handcraft.
Belgian craftsmanship is an important foundation for Camille De Prêtre. She draws on a heritage in which material knowledge is built through repetition, close observation and the intelligence of the hand. Established techniques are not treated as fixed rules. De Prêtre experiments with them, combining raw materials, layered finishes and sculptural surfaces to discover new visual and tactile possibilities. The process is direct and physical, and the traces of making remain central to the final work.
Nature provides a recurring vocabulary. Bark, stone, erosion, growth and irregular patterns are translated rather than copied. In the Cortex works, for example, the surface of plane tree bark becomes a point of departure for carved and worked wooden forms. Roughness meets refinement; organic texture is held within clear construction. This balance allows the work to feel both grounded and expressive.
Across her collections, each series develops from the previous one. Forms, techniques and material discoveries return in altered ways, creating continuity without repetition. The Bulbo and Calimero furniture pieces retain a strong functional presence, while works from Echo and Cortex move closer to sculpture. De Prêtre is interested in this threshold, where an object can still suggest use while operating primarily through proportion, surface and emotional presence.
Her cross-continental practice brings European craft into dialogue with the scale and eclecticism of North American interiors. Camille De Prêtre presented work during Milan Design Week in 2024, including a collection shown with Baranzate Ateliers, and her work has entered galleries and design contexts internationally. NewHouse Gallery presents Camille De Prêtre in Amsterdam. Browse available works by Camille De Prêtre and explore her exhibition history.