Catherine d’Espiney’ s enchanting jewels : a love story between Brazil and France…

                   

I’ve met recently a princess of an enchanted world hidden not far from famous Avenue Montaigne. A  woman of great taste who studied Art History at prestigious Ecole du Louvre (like me) and artist herself : Catherine d’Espiney. Since her childhood she developped a passion for odd objects, “curiositas”, and jewellery, especially russian ones (surely her russian roots from her mother). Then she settled down in Brazil, studied gemology, collected brazilian precious stones and had the splendid idea to create unique jewel pieces,  echoing the french tradition, using only brazilian stones and realized thanks to the amazing skill of  local craftmen. All hand made only, all unique, like Haute Couture items , they like look powerful charms, magnifiying the woman who is wearing them.

Not for a shy lady for sure ! “I don’t like small things” she says !

These exceptional and exclusive pieces of jewellery with personality tell the admirer stories, like an artwork, and sparkle many coloured universes , they are so Deluxe&Arty !

I invite you to visit her website to see more !  http://www.magic.art.br/cathdespiney/entree.php?id=en

A movie filled with Love and poetry : L’Artiste et son Modèle by Fernando Trueba , with french movie star Jean Rochefort

It’s so rare to see a movie about art and creation so true and stirring ,without any pathos. Fernado Trueba succeeded to render a fair observtion of creative process you never see usually, when the sculptor is working in his studio. The choice of black and white enhanced by a magnificent natural daylight was risky but ideal. This story has been freely inspired by the french artist Maillol who started as a Nabis then turned to sculpture (I do recommend a visit in Maillol Museum 61 rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris). It’s the middle of the war, in the souhtwest of France, at the borders of Spain, the wife of  the old master found  by chance a young mysterious woman who is going to become the artist’s last model. He will find at least inspiration for his ultimate masterpiece.

All the actors are marvellous and the freshness of Aïda Folch is a delight  in front of legendary Jean Rochefort  (as  said Quentin Tarentino in Cannes to the french actor when they met 2 years ago in Cannes !).

Contemporary dance in the Louvre with Damien Jalet last friday : I was there !

I love when History meets Contemporary. I’m against partitioning systems in Art and  bridges between past and present have always existed. I do think Paris is the ideal place for this special meeting, especially the Louvre, still today ! Wim Delvoye showed it last summer brilliantly for instance. The Louvre has developped for some years now another  great idea besides temporary contemporary exhibitions :  an ephemeral experience  is offered to a choreographer , by performing one night in the museum’s rooms ! A first glance we could say Dance is the art of present in opposition to the eternity enbodied by work of art…That’s why the allince of both and the experience of attending a dance spectacle in the middle of the works and fabulous architecture of the Louvre is SO unique  !  After you lived it , you just wanted to say at loud : again ! I can tell you all the audience last friday had the feeling to participate to somethig very special and moving.

  

Moreover some dancers were accompanied by live musicians and singers. I particularly appreciated Winter Family performance and the singer in Khorsbad . The topics chosen echoed totally the sculptures in Richelieu wing in the splendid Marly and Puget courtyards  : mythologie with Acteon drama , frenzied wild nymphs , the primoridal couple… I attended a fantastic final in Khorsabad courtyard ( image on right), under the protection of Lamassu-winged genius with 5 legs, a bull body ad human’s head- from 8th century BC.

Thanks to Domoina, Art concierge in  Royal Monceau, who  recommended me this  magic night the Louvre !

 

A lovely and delicious Week-end in Antwerp, Belgium

Two weeks ago, Edwart and I decided to spent 2 days in Antwerpen to celebrate my birthday. First  because I was born on december 6th, Saint Nicholas day,  which is a great  celebration in northern Europe; moreover it’s only 2 hours from Paris and a beautiful city where Rubens lived and Durer visited also ! Now Antwerpen is famous for fashion designers and…excellent food as you are going to see. We stayed in a Small Luxury Hotel : De Witte Lelie, very well located. The weather was ideal : very cold and dry. The great square was a real enchantment with nighlights and its magical christmas tree.

We started like pilmgrims with Rubens’ house that we do appreciate for its architecture and fantastic collections ‘after having gorgeous Truffles Spaghetti at Bourla Bar !)

                   

Then we were ready for an amazing dessert at Het Gebaar ! next to the the small botanical garden you can’t miss what  looks like Henzel and Gretel ginger bread home : it houses the restaurant of a former pastry chef Roger Van Damme. We had a well named “Spectaculos” which was spectacular indeed ! a wonderful work of art , look by yourself :

We were not reasonable at all as we booked a table at 8pm for the best city’s restaurant on top of MAS : t’Zilte ! but  dec 6th happens only once in the year ! After a walk by nigt through the old cobblestones street we walked to the new museum of contemporay art and had a fantastic dinner. We were surprised when the gifted chef Viki Geuns told us he was self-taught. According to us, he’s more than a chef : he’an artist (inspired by japonism for sure). The service was also very  friendly and perfect.As we took the full tasting menu, I will show you only “samples “. We started we fresh “mise en bouche”, and had several more in tiny portions. Then came the breadS, excessively delicious !

 

The tasting menu was a perefct mix between meats(carpaccio to start/ hare to finish) and fish (cod-scallops)

        

The second day we visited the fashion museum (MoMu) where you can admire a show devoted to french fashion designer Madame Grès, a very ParisDeluxe&Arty exhibition indeed (until feb 10th)  ! Pleats inspired by neo-classicism and antiques sculptures, impecable style, no taste mistakes, so inspirational ! The major part of dresses are coming from parisian fashion museum Palais Galiera.

credit : © Stéphane Piera/Galliera/Roger-Viollet

Then we had a delicious lunch at Renaissance Café which is the italian restaurant next to the concept store called Renaissance. Minimalist and elegnt design +  superb food  : all what I loooove !

Newly opened : La Dame de Pic Restaurant. “Atout charme” (advantage heart) for sure ! coming soon…

The experience starts before you get in, with the window from rue du Louvre where you can see the team working for your pleasure, mixing flavours and colours to shape a very esthetic and delicious menu ! Then inside the place is decorated with taste and refinement. Soft colours, amazing baccarat glasses glowing like diamonds on the table; works of art on the wall representing large flowers motifs cut into leather-like texture. Welcome on board, La Dame de Pic and her crew is proud to take you for an extraordianry culinary trip based on scents and season specialties. The service was friendly and attentive thanks to charming  Pauline.

I’ve choosen the menu “Amber and Vanilla” and I loooved it !

    

No,  it’s not a dessert, this is the entrance !  I started with beetroots infused with coffee and cabbages in soft vanille sauce.

      

Edwart choose the “plat du jour” : a blanquette de veau  revisited and perfectly cooked.

I had the pig from Bigorre (frpm Pyrenees) infused in figs and displayed with figs. What a delight, the best I’ve ever had !

I finished with little jewels : mini babas vanilla-ginger. Exquisite !

La Dame de Pic is definitly a very ParisDeluxe&Arty restaurant, thanks to great talent of the young chef Anne-Sophie Pic , 43 years old only ! She had been rewarded “Best chef of the year”in  2007,  the first time in Michelin guide history for a woman !

She has a fabulous restaurant in Valence (3 stars in Michelin guide) where she started.  Actually she took her father place after he died, surprising everybody . Passion,  determination and creativity  are her best recipe.

Then she established also in famous palace hotel “Hotel Beau Rivage” in Lausanne (2 stars Michelin guide) and now she’ s in Paris at least, for our great joy !

Claire Morgan at Karsten Greve Gallery, Paris, until nov 3rd

Hurry up if you don’t want to miss the great show of a rising young artist in le Marais area, until saturday ! She’s only 32 years old (from Ireland , living in London)and very impressive for her artistic maturity and mastering of different disciplines and techniques : drawing, sculpture,  installation, and taxidermy ! I’ve already told about her last year  (nov 18th) when she exhibited (with Erik Nissbicker by the way) in Conciergerie. Actually I’ve noticed her for the first time at La Fiac last year and I’m still mesmerized by her work  which transcends  images of death (birds and/or insects) through a formal and technical display- a real performance actually- that plays with perception and space. A work in the same time symbolic, esthetic, optical and filled with poetry based on  artistic qualities -nooo, it’s not  a bad word ! and a great rigour in the execution , which is according to me another rare quality today. Enough of cheap and anti-art ! Don’t be afraid by the title of the exhibition “Quietus” with underlying images of death,  and let’s celebrate the birth of a great artist, you will see her name everywhere very soon for sure.

a globe of golden bees attracting black birds in a trap, falling down in a slow choreography

work on paper with traces of taxidermy’s substances

Erik Nussbicker’s performance at Palais the Tokyo

I just come back from an amazing performance given tonight by my friend Erik Nussbicker who was invited to Palais the Tokyo, a famous center for contemporary art in Paris- I would say a laboratory for cutting edge art- for an odd recital …on a deer’s bones. It’s actually a sound piece also called “Le Cerf de Saint Eustache “( Saint Eustachius’ deer), in reference to a wonderful engraving by Durer where we can see the saint kneeling down in front of a deer on whose head a cross is shining between his antlers.In Erik Nussbicker installation we can observe first a carpet made of horse hair , on which is displayed an entire deer’s skeleton. All the bones, so thin and white, had been worked slighty to be “played” by th artist himself : using echoes, vibrations, percussions, from the smallest- like teeth vibrating on the jaw- to the most imposing : the head transformed into a lyre. We feel like being linked back with the forces of nature, paying a tribute to a lord-animal of the forest, making bridges between life/death/ and space even,  through vibes and sound. A great total experience for him as for the audience.