Contemporary Art at Le Bon Marché
I think I have never seen a store that puts so much emphasis on contemporary art and design like Le Bon Marché does. When I came to Paris in May, they had a very interesting exhibit on Brazil that encompassed art, design, fashion and a variety of products made in Brazil. I wrote about it here. This time, the store commissioned young contemporary artists Sara Bessadi who lives and works in Paris and Lorenzo Petrantoni, who is Italian, to create installations with a specific theme in mind: accessories. Sarah’s mixed media works on paper are cheeky, ironic and fun. She tells the story of a woman who frees herself from cultural constrains (and shoes and bags -or their lack thereof- are a very important part of that liberation). These framed pieces are perfect for a fashion lover and also delightful when displayed together. Petrantoni, who as an illustrator has worked for Vogue, Vanity Fair and The Guardian, among others, covered all the store's escalators with postcards based on his designs and illustrations (which reminded me of Fornasetti) and some walls had mesmerizing installations of circles that seemed to follow the movement of a clock. Each of his drawings had incorporated his own illustrations of accessory pieces like bags and umbrellas with prints from the 19th century or covers of contemporary magazines. Brilliant initiative of Le Bon Marche. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
SARA BESSADI POUR LE BON MARCHE
