100 years under the Dome. 1912-2012
An exceptional anniversary at Galeries Lafayette
To mark the 100th anniversary of the construction of the Coupole, Galeries Lafayette is celebrating this landmark on Boulevard Haussmann, a symbol of Art Nouveau architecture, with a series of new events that will punctuate store life from October 16, 2012.
In collaboration with Djuric Tardio-Architectes, Yann Kersalé has designed the Chrysalis, a luminous creation on the store’s facade that will evolve over time and with the seasons.
The artist completes his work with a permanent installation in the Coupole. The latter will be illuminated and the original brilliance of the balconies built by Louis Majorelle will be restored using 21st-century technologies, bringing majesty and wonder to the monument.
Chrysalide et Coupole by Yann Kersalé
“What if this Lafayette had such sensitive skin that each variation in its occupations would trigger a frisson of thousands of points of light to enhance its beauty? It has to stand out, even if it means being copied later, but never equalled.
The diversity of its facades will give us the opportunity to make it unique and prove its exemplary uniqueness.
Chrysalide is a plastic work that takes shape on a light support hanging from the facades, and moves – or rather, we should say, is moved – by variations in the life of the site.
Every year has its seasons. Galeries Lafayette has many more than the four on our astronomical
calendar. Chrysalide is a cocoon of light, constantly quivering to the tempo of the department store and stimulating the desire to enter. The interior dome of the historic building is the matrix. The joy of its colors and the diversity of its motifs at the beginning of the 20th century were a real attraction. Generated at the beginning of the 21st century, a matching outer skin is the act. The two are now linked, it’s a whole, a global image, the perpetuity of big business open to all. This idea, invented by Boucicaut, is here, pushed to the limit.
Art is never afraid of its associates when they put on a good show together. The department store, dressed in its finest finery, a sanctuary of fashion for all, is a fine sculpture in organdi of light, a fragrancevisuelle. It’s a work of art that expresses itself and exhibits itself, sheltered from the walls of alcoves, on the grand boulevard, in full view of all and for all. A cosmic societ-halo object, the moon’s little brother and Saturn’s distant cousin”
Yann Kersalé
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
