Set superstar Alexandre de Betak’s Paris apartment interiors go under the hammer
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For 30 years French art director, scenographer and designer Alexandre de Betak has pulled off some the fashion world’s most outstanding catwalk shows. Who could forget the 59 ft mountain of blue delphiniums he constructed in the courtyard of the Louvre for Raf Simons’ final Dior show in 2015, or last year’s Paris show for Rodarte in a 16th-century hospital garden cloister – a location de Betak himself found.
In addition to pulling together more than 1,000 catwalk spectacles, the runway producer has also designed furniture and houses and amassed a vast collection of art and objets. On 28 March, Paris auction house Piasa holds a sale of more than 200 pieces taken from his Paris apartment. Among them are minimal and kinetic artworks and lights, furniture from the 1940s to the 1970s and prototypes of his own pieces.
Alexandre de Betak’s collection spans from the 1930s to the 1980s, combining futuristic pieces with pop in art and design
Pieces up for auction include Quanta, €10,000-€15,000, by Fabrizzio Cocchia and Giafranco Fini, 1970 and ‘Day Bed’ prototype, €10,000-€15,000, by Alexandre de Betak
Left, Gisele, €15,000-€20,000, by Alexandre de Betak, 2002. Right, Armchair prototype, €10,000-€15,000, by Jorgen Kastholm & Preben Fabricius, 1960s
Also up for sale is a range of toy figures, including Darth Vader and C-3PO cases, €300-€400
The 13-piece super-hero figure collection is expected to sell for between €5,000-€7,000
Tableau Mobile, Voyage n° III, €8,000-€12,000, by Frank Malina, 1958
‘Non stop sofa, modèle DS-600’ canapé, €3,000-€4,000, by Ueli Berger, 1972
Left, 4 cercles concentriques, €3,000-€4,000, by Gregorio Vardanega, 1969. Right, Radio, €600-€900, by Paul Louis Gastaud
Left, Programma, €18,000-€25,000, by Gianfranco Fini, 1970. Right, ‘Set of three chairs’, €800-€1,200, by Marinus A. Vjim
‘Centre de table’, €150-€200, by Joseph Hoffman, 1970
INFORMATION
‘Alexandre de Betak, My Parisian Interior Art + Design’ is on view from 22 – 28 March. For more information, visit the Piasa website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
Piasa
118 rue du faubourg
saint-honoré 75008
Paris
View Google Maps (opens in new tab)
Emma O'Kelly is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. She joined the magazine on issue 4 as news editor and since since then has worked in full and part time roles across many editorial departments. She is a freelance journalist based in London and works for a range of titles from Condé Nast Traveller to The Telegraph. She is currently working on a book about Scandinavian sauna culture and is renovating a mid century house in the Italian Lakes.
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