Demisch Danant and Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval present:
Paris-New York: Galleries in Residence
A transatlantic conversation of iconic French design
Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval: 30 W 12th Street, New York
November 8-December 9, 2023
Following the success of the first chapter of the transatlantic collaboration, Galleries in Residence, with the exhibition Demisch Danant: 5, quai Malaquais, it is time for Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval to head to its counterpart’s gallery in New York, from November 8th to December 9th 2023, at 30W 12th Street.
Founded and led by three generations of women with innovative approaches, Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval, now under the direction of Anne-Sophie’s daughter Julie Blum, offers to the American public an immersion into the aura of one of the main Parisian sites of modern design and Art Deco.
This exhibition showcases several iconic furniture pieces from the Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval collection, including a pair of curved-back and straight-legged chairs inspired by the Louis XV style, designed by Jean-Michel Frank – a prominent designer and decorator in the Modern movement. The selection also features a tubular metal fireside chair created by Adrienne Gorska, who collaborated with Robert Mallet Stevens in furnishing her sister Tamara de Lempicka's studio in 1930. Gorska's piece reflects her modern sensibilities and offers a glimpse into the architect's vision. Surrounding the furniture, Etienne Cournault's paintings contribute to this exquisite ensemble. Cournault, an unconventional and understated artist, developed his artistic practice through ongoing material experimentation and exploration.
Introducing the universe of Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval in the heart of Demisch Danant is also an opportunity for Julie Blum to present the works of Bulgarian-born artist Vassil Ivanoff. The vases, sculptures, bowls and other creations from the 1950s displayed in the exhibition highlight Vassil Ivanoff’s powerful and sensual creativity.
Renowned ceramist and sculptor, Ivanoff’s works are infused with influences from across the world and play with the viewer’s eyes by mixing periods. His creations are visually inspired by artists like Chaim Jacob Lipchitz, Ossip Zadkine, Pablo Picasso and Brancusi, and by Mesopotamian and pre-Colombian archaism. Vassil Ivanoff generated a charismatic production that represents his rough yet sensitive temper. His collection consists of vases with bull-blood red enamel, carved plaques, anthropomorphic engobed vases, erotic potteries, zoomorph jars, abstract compositions and free-form sculptures.
About the Galleries In Residence project:
Our partnership with Demisch Danant came naturally out of a conversation I had with Stéphane Danant a few months ago as he was passing by the gallery quai Malaquais. Our Ivanoff exhibition had just finished and we were packing all his stunning pieces. In my mind, I had always thought that this spectacular work should be shown in NY so I asked Stephane if he would agree to import the show to his lovely gallery in NY. He quickly agreed to collaborate and suggested he could also set up a show in our gallery, quai Malaquais.
Exchanging our galleries appeared like a natural way to continue our conversation. We agreed quickly to move forward and I gave him and Jean de Piepape, scenographer, « carte blanche » to reinvent our gallery in a 1960's decor.–Julie Blum, director of Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval
Poetically steeped in the past, both galleries have rich histories in site and subject – as chance would have it, both are housed in former bookstores. Tied together by a shared affinity and admiration for the greats, Demisch Danant and Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval are perhaps two of the most respected establishments in their respective cities for timeless and barrier-blurring design. Each with their own niche expertise – Demisch Danant for post-war and Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval for the Art Deco period – together, the two collectives offer an interconnected education of iconic French innovation in the world of design and the decorative arts.
A residence in the truest sense, this collaborative gallery swap will offer fleeting immersions of each gallery’s identity from the programming exhibited to the point of view expressed in its unveiling.
About Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval
Located at 5, quai Malaquais in Paris, on the premises of the legendary Honoré Champion bookshop, in an 18th-century hôtel particulier, Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval specializing in Art Deco and 20th-century decorative arts has been a landmark address for collectors and interior designers for the past fifty years
Daughter of the antique dealer Yvette Barran, Anne-Sophie Duval developed an interest in decorative arts of the 20th century early on, and opened her gallery in 1972 on quai Malaquais in Paris. In her own words, she liked the “great Art Deco when furniture was drawn by architects, when refinement was simplicity itself, when beauty expressed itself through simple shapes and volumes.” With her purist and selective mind, she rehabilitated without concession the great names of Art Deco: Pierre Chareau (her main reference), Jean Dunand, Armand-Albert Rateau, Eileen Gray, Jean-Michel Frank and more. She was a pioneer in exploring the furniture productions of the 1920s and 1940s. Renowned for her precise selection and her modern eye, Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval has acquired international recognition, and celebrated her 20-year anniversary in 1992 with an exhibition of extraordinary pieces of furniture by Armand Albert Rateau, interior designer for Jeanne Lanvin.
Since 2008, her daughter Julie Blum has continued to showcase the incredible creativity of this period. Keen to perpetuate the spirit of the place, she pursues this dual ambition of rediscovering the major artworks of the Art Deco masters and highlighting the work of the many artists, men and women, who have contributed to the revival of modern forms.