Twelve years ago, Florence Guillier Bernard started Maison Parisienne, a “nomadic gallery” as she calls it, to promote young brilliant French craftsmen. She picks them, ceramists, embroiderers, wood carvers, glass blowers, copper sculptors, when they graduate from Ecole Boulle or when they receive a prize. She then works closely with them, for many years sometimes, and accompanies them all the way to entering museum collections. Her “stable” is now quite fantastic and also includes Simone Pheulpin, a 79 year old lady from les Vosges, whom the French public discovered when she exhibited at Chapelle Expiatoire three years ago. She creates the most dreamy pleated cotton sculptures. This year, Maison Parisienne is showing its treasures in an apartment for sale, decorated by Olivia Stiegler on boulevard Malesherbes, but since lockdown, you cannot see them except here.
You might not like everything about the decor but when you look at the carefully selected pieces, one after the other, you start to understand the beauty of the work. For example the plumassier (feather artist) Julien Vermeulen, who won the Prix de l’Intelligence de la main awarded by Fondation Bettencourt in 2018, produced for Maison Parisienne some tantalizing “paintings” in goose feathers. Aurélie Mathigot embroiders photographs and was going to present her portraits this October, based on Studio Harcourt’s famous black and white pictures of movie stars. Here she shows landscapes.
The latest works, are Coralie Laverdet‘s series of paper tondos “Luna II”. Like the famous Belgian artist, Isabelle de Borchgrave, she works with paper and tints it black sometimes for special effects. She also has a series in red. In the past, she has created large decors, in wood with waves that look like folded pieces of paper, for restaurants. Her decorative stones made of paper are completely poetic sculptures.
Hervé Wahlen creates wall lamps and objects in red copper and Pierre Renart molds extraordinary furniture in various essences of wood. Mobilier National has just acquired one of his “Möbius” console which looks like a ribbon. They are all unique specimens and can be made to order in the type of wood you like. Hopefully from mid December, the apartment will be visible again by appointment but you can already have a look on Instagram @galeriemaisonparisienne or on the website Maison Parisienne.
The brilliant idea devised by Florence Guillier Bernard was obviously to mix every piece designed by her different artists and to unite works as different as copper lights, cotton sculptures or embroidered photos. It not only gives a good idea of her creative taste, it makes every piece vibrate differently. When you concentrate on true creators and superlative craftsmanship, it shows. And there is none of the superficial trendiness in this gallery. It is a fascinating nest of talents.
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