New Galleries, Auctions And Stores to Check Out
There’s still a lot to do in the City of Light between virtual fashion shows, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
While the coronavirus pandemic is getting old, there’s lots new to take in between virtual fashion shows in Paris.
CARTIER FURNISHINGS
A collection of classical and decorative furniture from the Cartier boutique archives is being auctioned by Artcurial, including intricately carved consoles, a Louis XV mirror and lamps from Maison Charles. The pieces come from Cartier stores around the world and show Louis Cartier and Jeanne Toussaint’s influence on the house style.
“This furniture reflects a part of Cartier’s identity,” said Pierre Rainero, director of image, style and heritage at Cartier, citing the sense of proportion, clean lines and harmony of forms seen in the selection.
A total of 240 lots will be offered, including a pair of Bergère chairs and a caned, Louis XV sofa with plush velvet cushions.
Louis Cartier played an active role in decorating the flagship store on Rue de la Paix, where the brand settled in 1899. Toussaint, who made the panther a Cartier emblem when she was creative director for the historic French jeweler, added a touch of femininity to the house’s interiors.
The sale runs on Wednesday and online from Monday to March 8. Proceeds will go to Cartier Philanthropy, founded nearly a decade a go to donate funds to non-profits working to improve social conditions in the least-developed regions. — Mimosa Spencer
MARGIELA SALE
Here comes part two of Sotheby’s Martin Margiela auction, with 200 lots of readyto-wear clothing, limited-edition artisanal pieces, accessories and total looks.
Running Wednesday to March 9, the sale spans two decades of the house. Pieces from the famed “Retrospective” collection of spring 1994, presented in an abandoned supermarket, include a tunic made from a leather coat discovered at the Salvation Army and a cigarette shoulder blazer. Also on sale is an apron skirt made from vintage scarves from the spring 1992 show, which took place in a deserted subway station. Other items include a keys necklace dipped in resin, from fall 2003, and, from a collaboration with Bless, fur wigs from fall 1997.
Part one of the vintage Martin Margiela sale took place in 2019, following two major retrospective exhibits in Paris, at the Palais Galliera and Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Artcurial also held an auction of items from the brand in 2019, raising close to $270,000, twice the presale estimate, with the bulk of buyers hailing from abroad. — M.S.
PARIS OUTPOST
Dover Street Little Market has opened its doors, showcasing up-and-coming designers in a quiet space tucked off to the side of a courtyard at 54 Rue SaintHonoré in the 1st arrondissement.
Formerly home to the Trading Museum Paris, the place is now outfitted with separate nooks for each designer. Visitors are greeted with a naked mannequin sporting a frothy, tulle boa, flanked by racks of clothing — including a spiraled one that fills one corner.
Currently on offer is Victor Weinsanto’s first full collection “Call Me Nina,” inspired by German punk singer Nina Hagen, including a purple, corseted silk dress and a rhinestone tank top. The store is also featuring Youths in Balaclava’s “Godstar” collection; colorful, unisex puffers from
Eli Russell Linnetz of Venice Beach, Calif.; pieces from Berlin-based Honey F--king Dijon; Mexican designer Antonio Zaragoza’s Liberal Youth Ministry, and boxy shade plaid workwear shirts from Rassvet from Russia. — M.S.
ART ATTACK
Museums are shut, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of art to see in Paris — especially as new galleries keep opening despite the coronavirus pandemic.
A line often snakes out the door of Galleria Continua’s exhibition space, which opened at 87 Rue du Temple in the 3rd arrondissement on Jan. 20, with a show curated by JR, called “Truc À Faire,” or “One Thing to Do.”
The gallery is housed in a sprawling 8,900-square-foot, two-floor venue that’s a work in progress, expected ultimately to house a café, store and meeting room. Today, fixtures remain intact from the leather goods wholesaler that formerly occupied the location.
JR in a statement called it “a space where art works are sold halfway between a cathedral and a supermarket, it’s a place where we get closer to infinity and where we can buy consumer objects.”
He’s brought together artists from various generations and five continents, including Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor and Michelangelo Pistoletto for “Truc À Faire,” which runs through March 20.
A few steps away, Lévy Gorvy opened a 2,200-square-foot space at 4 Passage Sainte-Avoye. The current exhibition there, called “Horizons,” was curated by artist Etel Adnan.
After more than two decades with a gallery in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Kamel Mennour opened its fifth outpost, at 5 Rue du Pont de Lodi in the 6th arrondissement. A former storage depot, the 6,700-squarefoot space is devoted to painting and sculpture. The new gallery debuted in December and today is showing a joint exhibition of works by Daniel Buren and Philippe Parreno.
Then, over in the 18th arrondissement, the recently opened Chapelle XIV, at 14 Boulevard de la Chapelle, mixes different artistic disciplines, with an art and design gallery, a record store, a printing workshop and a café. Its gallery focuses on emerging contemporary artists, with the “Erotish” being on show through March 6.
Heading outdoors, nine artists were given carte blanche by the singer Mika and his sister Paloma, alongside Olivier Gabet, director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, to create posters in the vein of those of the Belle Époque. The colorful works by the likes of Aurélia Durand, Annick Kamgang and Rosa Maria Unda Souki are being displayed on city streets throughout the month of March.
— Jennifer Weil
CINEMA PARADISO
French film production company MK2 is giving people a taste of the silver screen in the privacy of their own hotel rooms, thanks to its new MK2 Hotel Paradiso, located at 135 Boulevard Diderot in the 12th arrondissement.
MK2 touts this as the first cinemahotel anywhere in the world, where guests can transform their rooms into private screening spaces or take in films on the roof thanks to the open-air theater there.
The hotel has 34 rooms and two suites from which people can order food — and popcorn — in to eat while viewing a film on one of the giant screens. A café and rooftop bar are also available for nibbles.
Nightly room rates run from about 160 euros to 350 euros. — J.W.
THE NEW GRIND
Paris restaurants may be closed, but one can still get a cup of java to go, as coffee specialist Café Kitsuné has opened a café in the Marais, at 30 Rue du Vertbois.
The new outlet has planned a series of workshops — depending on the pandemic situation, of course — for coffee tasting, led by Florian Decousser, a bean-roasting artisan. The café sells coffee to go, coffee grounds and beans, and Kitsuné’s dishes, cups, saucers and mugs. Coffee on offer includes the full-bodied Mococa from Brazil, with a chocolaty aroma, and the fruity, intense Libertad from Guatemala.
The café is the house’s fifteenth; over the past eight years it has opened outposts in major cities in Asia and Europe. — M.S.