©Grégoire Prangé
The pope of contemporary art welcomes us to his 200 m2 bookstore-gallery, rue des Filles-du-Calvaire. The Pope, really? Yes really !
Defender of contemporary art for half a century and famous art collector, Yvon Lambert has introduced the greatest artists of our time: Nan Goldin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Miquel Barceló, Jenny Holzer, Koo Jeong-A, Christian Boltanski, Cy Twombly, Daniel Buren, Andres Serrano, Anselm Kiefer, David Horwitz, Robert Combas. And others.
The secret of this autodidact? He is not afraid of making mistakes, he trusts, he commits. Legend has it that at the age of 14, this son of a taxi driver bought his first painting, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. At the age of 30, he moved to Paris and opened a gallery in the 6th arrondissement. We discover: Robert Malaval, Léon Tulundjian, Théo Van Doesburg, Jean Hélion, etc.
Shy, the young man has great taste. A prophet capable of predicting success, he reveals artists he takes under his wings.
In 1977, he landed in the Marais, near Beaubourg, still very popular and industrious, populated by artisans who live and work in dilapidated mansions.
Yvon Lambert will never leave this neighborhood. Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare, modern art adorns its walls.
In 1986, he was the first to enter the Haut-Marais. The museum proportions of its new 800 m2 space allow it to exhibit the best artists from conceptual, minimalist and land-art trends.
Artists, collectors, museum directors, colleagues: everyone sings the praises of this nonchalant, reserved, excessive, available, brilliant man, who knows how to forge strong bonds with those who cross his path.
His latest stroke of genius? He has just made an exceptional donation of 560 works to the State. On one condition: that this mega collection be installed in Avignon, in a space of 7.500 square meters, in the double setting of the Montfaucon and Caumont hotels. A donation estimated at 96 million euros by Christie's. Hats off to the artist!
Text: Katia Barillot
Video: Anaïs Costet – Instagram
02.04.21
D’OTHER LOVERS OF THE MARAIS
A meeting with the philosopher Charles Pépin
Philosopher, writer, successful author, professor at Sciences Po and at the Lycée de la Légion d'Honneur, Charles Pépin, who bears a royal first name twice, logically lives in the former district of Charles V, i.e. -say in the Marais. For having traveled up and down (“It’s by walking…
Librairie 0fr., the temple of “cool”
The Ofr bookstore. is so open to the world that it spills onto the sidewalk. Rue Dupetit-Thouars, the books spread out on the tables on either side of the entrance give an idea of what awaits customers behind the window: ultra-trendy fashion magazines, design magazines...
Emily in Paris… and Bruno in the Marais!
In Emily in Paris, he is Luc, the kindly “nerdy” colleague of the American heroine of the Netflix series. A specimen of Parisian hedonist who explains to young Emily, newly arrived in a luxury marketing agency in the capital, the codes of the world of work in France...
NOW ON
THE MOOD MARSH
Divine brunch at the foot of Notre-Dame
Of course, officially, it is not the Marais. But at Son de la Terre, a barge recently moored at the Montebello quay (5th), the 4th arrondissement is in sight. Moreover, this one is incredible: on one side, it is Notre-Dame flooded with sunlight; on the other, the quays, the book sellers, the walkers, the joggers.
Saka, a cocktail bar like in Tokyo
Here is an address which gives the measure of the transformation of the Marais. And it's enough to silence the grumpy people whose mantra is: “It was better before…” No, everything was not better “before” in the Marais. Besides, there was no American bar like Saka, which cultivates a form of excellence that can only be found in Japan.
Jazz at 38Riv: The highlights of May
The only jazz club in the Marais, 38Riv is the temple of cool and swing. Rue de Rivoli, between Saint-Paul and Hôtel de Ville, its vaulted cellars are the home base of the new jazz scene. Every evening, the magic happens.