While the current health crisis still prevents us from traveling, we offer you on a virtual visit of the Jean Royère exhibition at Galerie Jacques Lacoste, Paris.
Jean Royère [1902-1981]
Initiator of a unique, elegant and unconventional style, Jean Royère established himself as one of the greatest decorators of the 20th century with iconic creations.
At the age of 30, Jean Royère turned away from a career in the import-export trade to dedicate himself to his true vocation: interior design. He started in a furniture factory in order to learn the job and train. His first ever design was a set of slimline furniture for his uncle, Jacques Raverat.
The renovation of the Hotel Carlton’s brasserie on the Champs Elysée brought Royère into the spotlight and helped establish him as an emerging figure. In 1934, Pierre Gouffé, a noted Faubourg Saint Antoine furniture manufacturer, noticed Jean Royère and put him in charge of his firm’s contemporary furniture section.
At the 1937 Exposition Universelle, Royère was recognised as one of the most important decorators of his time. Royère developed a new repertoire inspired by animals and vegatals. The Elephanteau armchair, the Trefle chair, the Champignon lamp and the Bouquet sconce are emblematic of this period.
In 1949, Jean Royère opened his own gallery in Paris, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and opened galleries in Cairo (1946), Beirut (1947), Lima (1955), São Paulo (1959). He was very popular in the Middle East and carried out many prestigious orders for King Farouk of Egypt, the Prince of Arabia, King Hussein of Jordan, and many other.
What defines its work is his boldness, his curiosity and constant innovation. Royère innovated by proposing a luxurious creations without ostentation. He was always playing with proportions and bringing bright colors in his interiors. His most memorable work was often considered whimsical or eccentric, featuring unusual elements such as furry armchairs and curly table legs.
Jean Royère died in 1981 in New York City one year after moving there. The Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris held a museum to show his work in 1999, and a posthumous retrospective took place in New York City in 2008.
Jean Royère exhibition – Galerie Jacques Lacoste, Paris
From 20 November 2020 to 30 January 2021
Ever since its opening in 1986, Galerie Jacques Lacoste has been dedicated to the reappraisal and promotion of 20th-century decorative arts, promoting French designs from the 1930s up until the 1950s.
With an extensive archive comprising over 10,000 documents, Galerie Jacques Lacoste continuously pursues its research on Jean Royere’s work, for which the gallery is the ultimate reference. The gallery has contributed to revealing Jean Royère’s innovative spirit and decorative fantasy through constant research all around the world. The Galerie unveiled on several occasions incredible exhibitions and publications.
In 1999 the gallery dedicated its first exhibition to Jean Royère, and in 2008, Jacques Lacoste was invited by the Sonnabend Gallery in New York to present a selection of 80 exceptional pieces by the decorator alongside Galerie Patrick Seguin. Then, in 2012, Jacques Lacoste published a two-volume-set book on Jean Royère in collaboration with Patrick Seguin. A few years later, Galerie Jacques Lacoste hosts once again an impressive exhibition highlighting Jean Royere’s most prestigious creations: the Polar Bear armchair and the Creeper sconces, a straw marquetry Puddle coffee table, a Persian floor lamp, a Herringbone set (sofa and chairs) and Swallow sconces. With more than 60 pieces on display at the Galerie Jacques Lacoste, this exhibition is an opportunity to discover or re-discover the formidable creative fibre of this design icon.
For Jean Royere’s admirers who can’t make it to the exhibition, we invite you to discover the video of the exhibition online : Jacques Lacoste
From 20 November 2020 to 30 January 2021
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