Culture

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We consider the parallels between the “Lost Generation” of artists, writers and designers, those such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Giacometti, who, following the “pointless carnage” of the Great War, were rebelling against what many considered a hopelessly provincial, materialistic and emotionally barren future, ad the same demographic of young adults today, for whom any semblance of stability seems nigh on impossible.

Perhaps one can explain Surrealism, with its chasmic contradictions and hypocrisies, by quoting David Lynch, who famously said: “I don’t see why people expect a work of art to mean something when they accept that their own life doesn’t make sense.” We consider the movement’s inherent contradictions, and how Breton’s battle cry to épater les bourgeois might still be relevant today.

The art world is in a constant state of flux, as, at any moment, we might see the emergence of a previously undiscovered talent who changes the trajectory of the historical canon. As such, as a new year approaches, we take stock, looking back over the past twelve months at the surprising, sometimes comedic happenings that have raised eyebrows, and more often than not, a snigger, from Francis Bacon’s flop to a battle royale over “Apex” the stegosaurus, to Jeff Koons landing on the moon.

PEOPLE 

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We spoke to Upper Eastside gallerist and interior designer Alyssa Kapito, who is, by her own admission, a devotee at the galuchat-clad altar of French decorative arts, about her work, inspirations, “Romantasy” fiction and whether or not she can pull off Lalanne finger caps.

Saman Amel have launched a flagship London atelier; and with an approach akin to Gertrude Stein, they intend to use the space as a platform for expressing their innate passion for art and design. Generations of young creatives “found” their place within Stein’s illustrious salons, a synergistic environment where, crucially, ideas were exchanged face to face, first-hand. Similarly, Saman Amel hope to foster an environment where customers can come together for thematic exhibitions and soirées, with the hope of promoting conversations beyond clothes.

With such a rich history of art and design, interweaving as it does, different eras and epochs, from Elsie de Wolfe and Jean-Michel Frank to the influence of exiled European avant-garde artists, and gallerists such as Peggy Guggenheim, it should come as little surprise that a new generation of New York decorators are taking inspiration from the past. As such, we spoke to Sebastian Zuchowicki about coquille d’œuf marquetry, the rise and rise of the celebrity interior stylist and, perhaps more pressingly, his abiding love for lampshades.

Upon entering the burnt-brick hues of the hotel’s Neo-Greek lobby, one quickly loses all sense of the outside world, entering a richly layered mise-en-scène, a throwback to a golden age of luxury. Beguiled by its inherent charm, I met the designer, François-Joseph Graf, for a tour, after which, we discussed his influences and inspirations, the decorators he most admires, and more pressing concerns, such as where to get the best steak tartare and frog legs in Paris.

“Hotel Château Voltaire is anything but a decoration,” explains Thierry Gillier, “It is a place of today to be experienced today by people of today.” With that in mind, we spoke to Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay of Festen architecture, not only about their design for this 32-room five-star Paris hotel, but also their likes, dislikes and, in the case of the former, a long-harboured desire to moonlight as a dancer.

We spoke to Andrea Bokobsa, co-founder of Pied-A-Terre Paris, about his passion for art and design (in part inspired by his mother, a former designer for Baby Dior and Bonpoint) and where he hopes to take the company in coming years