“Sobriety, simplicity, serenity.” That’s the concise answer FCK a.k.a Frédérick Gautier offers when asked what feeling he aims to evoke through his designs. The Paris- and Marseille-based French designer reinterprets architecture and urban landscapes into what he calls “tools for nourishment”—items for everyday life. Every object echoes the aesthetics of brutalism and ancient primitivism without losing touch with the contemporary world. In short, FCK stands for minimalist, micro-architectural pieces designed for daily use.
Although FCK is now renowned for his distinctive design style, he actually began his career outside the design world. After a few years as Head of Culture at the first French department store, Le Printemps, he transitioned into the film industry, spending about twenty years as an art director, creating visual identities for movies. Gradually he gravitated toward design through his love for nature and the importance of living on earth in beautiful landscapes. This passion, along with his deep respect for agriculture and living ecosystems, led him to attend the National School of Landscape Architecture in Versailles. “While completing my assignments as a student, I constantly created ceramic objects designed for food grown in the very landscapes that were so dear to me,” he recalls. “Furthermore, I love earth—its texture, color, and materiality. I’m also deeply attracted to concrete for its similar qualities. The merging of these two fascinations led to the creation of an urban ceramic series: earthenware with the aesthetics of concrete and architectonic materials weathered by time.” Through FCK’s work, one discovers that concrete and ceramics share common ground—they are both earth, hardened through fire.
Aesthetically, FCK draws inspiration from the gods of modernism, such as Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, but even more so from South American brutalism. “I greatly admire Lina Bo Bardi, Luis Barragán, and Oscar Niemeyer, whom I had the privilege of meeting 25 years ago in Mexico City—a memory I cherish deeply. I also lived in a Le Corbusier building, and despite criticisms of his work being too strict or harsh, those spaces are truly designed for living. This living experience had a significant influence on me.”
What FCK appreciates most about brutalism is the purity of form. However, this quality is not exclusive to this discipline—it is also found in ancient and prehistoric cultures. When closely examining FCK’s water can, for instance, one can see an aesthetic reminiscent of ancient American and African cultures. “I’m drawn to the simplicity and ultra-functional nature of prehistoric objects,” he states. “They were created with almost no means and remain profoundly minimal and pure.”
All ceramic objects are made by hand, through a meditative process of repetitive gestures. This leads to unpredictable creations. The final, unique pieces are sometimes produced in limited series or even mass-produced. All of his work resonates with an archaeological feel, as if being unearthed and restored. “That’s what fascinates me about ceramics. Once baked, the objects already feel like archaeological findings. From the moment they come out of the kiln, they appear eternal—unlike today’s disposable consumer products, which are designed with built-in obsolescence. This timeless quality is unique to ceramics.”
Under the name FCK—which refers both to his name and a technical word to indicate the strength of concrete—the designer has been creating bespoke everyday objects for Serax for quite some time. With its particular shape, every object rethinks the experience of daily rituals, such as drinking a cup of tea. “Objects must have a strong personality,” FCK adds. “Without that, design lacks purpose.” He believes that objects always tell a story.
