Jean-Michel Frank at Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent

Text by Christopher Holt

The little-known Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent was created to preserve the 40-year legacy of YSL’s iconic couture house, which closed in 2002. The most recent show highlights the work of interior designer Jean-Michel Frank.

The exhibition consists of five separate furniture sets with pieces from the early 1920s to late 1930s. Three of these sets are featured in a single room and stand out for their sleek, minimal styling and striking use of materials such as of shagreen (sting ray leather), intricate straw marquetry and mica tiling. He used rich leather upholstery from Hermés, creating an affect that is both modest yet luxurious. Although his work clearly echoes the art-deco aesthetic of the period, it transcends the era through it's understated simplicity, appearing just as modern and relevant today.

Frank may be best known for his minimalist sensibilities, but later work often utilized a broad palette of colors and Victorian flourish. Unfortunately the exhibition provides few examples of this progression, influenced in part by collaborators such as artists Christian Bérard and Salvador Dali, as well as the brothers Giacometti. Dali’s Lévres (1938) stands in stark contrast to the rest of the exhibition. This blood red sofa mimics a pair of sensual lips and provides a hint into how Frank’s tastes were evolving toward the end of his career, which was cut short by his tragic suicide in 1941.  As a pioneer of modern interior design his impact is undeniable and clearly reflected in so much of the design we see today.

Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent foundation

1 rue Léonce Reynaud

Paris 16

Comments

[wasps]

The Foundation Pierre Berge Yves Saint Laurent is not little known to the cognoscente, anyone interested in art fashion and design. There are many excellent blogs that covered this exhibition some time ago.

[The Editor]

hello "Wasps" ooh your name suits you, what a waspish comment! but thanks for the tip. we don't strive to be the first, just to uncover the best, where it is lurking. lots of love, the overworked editor