Enter through the doors at 18, rue de la Verrerie in Paris’ Marais district, walk through the courtyard and into the space that occupies Galerie Alaïa and discover a secret garden of sorts, 'planted' by designer and artist Kris Ruhs. The fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa commissioned Ruhs, who has also designed jewellery for Alaïa, to create his own magical world. Titled Hanging Garden, and on view until 27 December, the installation invites viewers to use their own imagination to transport them to a place of wonder.
Over a year, Ruhs and his team worked painstakingly with porcelain, brass and iron thread, creating over 45,000 pieces for the installation, which also comprises his first solo show in Paris. Curved brass forms delicate flower petals, while carefully formed pieces of porcelain are shaped to look like leaves. The dangling flowers hang over three islands that visitors can walk through.
'The experience of it is to look and get lost,' says Donatien Grau, an academic who works with Alaïa. Adds the artist, 'I like the movement, when people brush by it or whatever, it kind of gives you a little bit of lightness to it.' The walls of the space were also covered with swirls, and leaves and blossoms in metallic hues of gold, silver and bronze, accented with the same pieces in the garden. The project also got the local community involved; artists Julian Schnabel and Mike Bouchet participated in the installation, as did Alaïa and members of his team.
'Everybody has a different approach to it,' says Ruhs. 'Everybody has a different feeling. Everybody has a different reference, so that’s nice. It’s like theatre. I leave it in the hands of the audience.'
Over a year, Ruhs and his team worked painstakingly with porcelain, brass and iron thread, creating over 45,000 pieces for the installation, which also comprises his first solo show in Paris
Curved brass forms delicate flower petals, while carefully formed pieces of porcelain are shaped to look like leaves. ’The experience of it is to look and get lost,’ says Donatien Grau, an academic who works with Alaïa
INFORMATION
Hanging Garden is on view until 27 December
Photography courtesy Galleria Carla Sozzani
ADDRESS
Galerie Azzedine Alaïa
18, rue de la Verrerie
75004 Paris
-
Premium pocketable audio scales up with the new SP4000 from Astell&KernThe Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 is a serious piece of audiophile equipment, a high-res portable player that offers endless ways to shape your listening experience
-
The ultimate amenity in this Canadian apartment building? A trio of scene-stealing restaurantsPart of Citizen on Jasper, a new residential tower, Va!, Olia, and Mimi offer a thrilling day-to-night dining experience
-
These sculptural mirrors embody the relaxed spirit of the MedPhotographed in a Mallorcan residence designed by local studio Munarq, these new sculptural mirrors by New York furniture company Ready To Hang are inspired by the sea
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in TexasThe artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San FranciscoThe artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profitsThe Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick CollectionThe actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raisingAt Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of societyA new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
