The Alchemy of Things by Karen McCartney

Author:Karen McCartney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2018-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

A copper sculpture by Danh Vo and Sarfatti chandelier are assertive elements in the space. The low table is by Pierre Charpin for Galerie kreo.

An extra layer of thought exists throughout the apartment – the books are, in fact, a work by Philippe Parreno and the figures are 3D family portraits.

A Marc Newson Orgone Stretch Lounge takes centre stage. The lamps sculpture is by Alicja Kwade.

A Giampiero Aloi chandelier hangs over the Konstantin Grcic table, produced by Galerie kreo. The chairs were designed in 1951 by Robin Day for London’s Royal Festival Hall.

CLÉMENCE & DIDIER KRZENTOWSKI

ART HOUSE

Didier Krzentowski is something of a philosopher – he is even philosophical about the relationship between collecting and neurosis. ‘I have always been a collector, since I was very young, starting with key chains,’ he says. While the intensity is most likely the same, the nature and value of the collections has expanded exponentially to include contemporary art, photography, design and vintage lighting, a subject on which he is a published author. Clémence, his wife and business partner, is no less passionate, drawing the comparison between collecting and completing a puzzle where there is a ‘treasure hunt’ to find the rare, elusive pieces required to fill the gaps.

The apartment they have lived in for nearly three decades in the 16th arrondissement in Paris is on the sixth floor of a handsome Haussmann building with views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. ‘One of the advantages of this area is the distance between other buildings meant the apartment could breathe,’ says Didier. What started as one apartment miraculously extended to two when they were able to buy the adjacent space funded by selling an artwork, Ostrich by Maurizio Cattelan, which had rocketed in value since they had bought it.

And therein lies something of their joint success. They seem to have a sixth sense, a highly developed radar for talent and then, by backing their instinct with confidence and investment, they create enduring relationships which are always creative and often profitable.

Their business Galerie kreo (which means creation in Esperanto) has offices in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris and, more recently, in Hay Hill in London’s Mayfair. ‘We are a laboratory space for ideas, allowing the designers we collaborate with to explore concepts beyond a mere collection of objects,’ says Clémence. The designers, who are part of an extended kreo family, are a roll call of design luminaries – Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Pierre Charpin, Naoto Fukasawa, Jaime Hayon, Konstantin Grcic, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Martin Szekely – but many of these relationships began when they were fledgling designers, and the growth has been mutual.

While all have considerable practices working with a number of design companies, it is with Galerie kreo that they can flex their ideas in a way that is often not possible in the cut and thrust of the commercial world. The support is not only financial, but also through a network of craftsmen and manufacturers where quality is paramount. These limited-edition pieces

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