This past week in Paris, the new and innovative Maison Rocher hosted a spirited salon exhibition titled “PAVONE” in the historic Le Marais district. On view from October 12-20, the show was divinely curated by Ashlee Harrison alongside Etienne Macret, as well as in thoughtful partnership with Jeremy Rocher. The multifaceted presentation offered a scintillating conversation between treasures of art and design, placing at its core the lavish themes of reverie, myth, and the ethereal.
Yves Klein and Man Ray Shine in PAVONE at Maison Rocher
The sculptural architecture of Maison Rocher, from the curvaceous white walls to the lyrical windows, proved to be a heavenly space for the sensorial exhibition. Visitors from near and far were immersed in the singular artistry of luminaries like Carl André, Uri Aran, Sergio Camargo, Chico Da Silva, Rochelle Goldberg, Yves Klein, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, Man Ray, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Ettore Sottsass, Wolfgang Tillmans, James Turrell, and many more.
Harrison, a New York City-based curator, advisor, and dealer, as well as the visionary Curatorial Director for Design Miami.LA, brought her flawless eye for functional art and collectible contemporary design to the dreamlike endeavor. Macret, a Paris and London-based art advisor and curator, in addition to serving as the distinguished Editor-in-Chief of The Collectors List, further enhanced the show with his masterful skills for developing meaningful collaborations and collections.
An Artistic Voyage through Reverie and Myth Unites the Organic and the Otherworldly
On the momentous occasion of the 100th year revelry in surrealism at Centre Pompidou, a journey through reverie—uniting the organic and the otherworldly—was unveiled within the sleek salon. Gems like the Children’s Clock (2022) and Close Parity Cabinet (2016) by Maarten Baas were on captivating display, allowing visitors the opportunity to view time through the far-reaching vision of youth.
With the perceptive series Children’s Clocks, the artist invited 720 children to create drawings which then formed the basis for 101 limited edition works in an ebullient palette. The whimsical cabinet of the Close Parity collection caressed the boundary-breaking languages of Dadaism and Art Brut, deftly utilizing brass and counterweights to uplift the merry and the mischievous.
Within the realm of myth, a majestic peacock representing the all-knowing god Argus Panoptes served as a tie binding together the show’s historic and contemporary masterpieces. Dazzling works such as Raimundo Cardoso’s Vase Marajoara (1970), invoking the creativity of the Marajoara tribe, Joep van Lieshout’s Venus Lamp Small (2017), honoring the iconic Roman goddess of love, and Alexis Mabille’s Sofa “Fortune Teller” (3 Cards Emerald) (2019) conjuring the age old craft of fortune telling, voyaged through eternal magic and mystery.
Ashlee Harrison and Etienne Macret Curate the Transformative, Ethereal Platform
The many faces of the ethereal—fragile, graceful, and intangible—defined the exhibition’s third thematic platform, celebrating avant-garde works of the mesmeric human imagination. Turrell offered an experiential wall installation where prismatic light challenged all perceptions, which was placed in gripping dialogue with the West Coast Table (2008) by Martin Szekely and Curial Aluminum (2022) by Rick Owens, merging the rigorous and the liberated for an awe-inspiring meditation on the limitless potential of all things. Within this transformative category,
Wonmin Park’s Haze Console White, Grey and Blue (2015) was a minimalist fantasy of pastel hues, pure forms, and expressive dimension, in addition to Haze Stool White and Purple (2015), which was a harmonious epiphany in glowing resin.