Art at Le Bon Marché
Art is right at the heart of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche. This strong commitment responds to a desire to interact and exchange with the very people who invite us to explore new worlds and open up possibilities: artists and creators. These artistic events, from our exhibitions to the Rive Gauche Collection, are designed to evoke emotion and wonder within the heart of an exceptional setting.
ART AT LE BON MARCHE, QUITE A HISTORY !
Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut, the visionary founders of Le Bon Marché, called on talented architects and designers for the construction and decoration of their shops right from the start. The lineage of Boileau, Armand Moisant, Gustave Eiffel, Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann and, more recently, Andrée Putman, have, over time, contributed to making the places we know today emblematic.
Passionate collectors, the Boucicauts created a gallery of paintings in their shop in 1875, where they exhibited works by artists who had been rejected by the Salon des Beaux-Arts. This generous installation was then made available to painters and sculptors who wished to exhibit their works there and thus make contact with Le Bon Marché clientele. Then, in 1912, a decorative arts gallery was offered to decorative artists, before Pomone, the Le Bon Marché art studio, was created in 1923.
The ON: Follow the guide! Discover the contemporary art and design collection of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche during a guided tour. Abstraction, figuration, matter, etc. will be discussed.
Many events have always been offered to Le Bon Marché customers. From the time of the Boucicauts, concerts were regularly given, notably by the Le Bon Marché band. In 1873, the "white month" was launched. Each year, this is an opportunity to create ever more audacious displays that amaze the visitors who come through the doors of the shop. Today and since 2016, Le Bon Marché has revived this tradition by offering free rein to an artist from the international contemporary scene every January.
ACCOMPANYING AND SUPPORTING CONTEMPORARY CREATION
All year round, Le Bon Marché invites artists and designers to use its spaces. Visual arts, fashion, design or music are exhibited during events. True to its commitment to supporting creation, Le Bon Marché accompanies its guests in the production of new works created in situ.
ART AND DESIGN AT THE HEART OF THE STORE
Displayed throughout the shop, the Le Bon Marché collection has two parts. On the one hand, the contemporary art collection, built up over more than thirty years, reflects our commitment to contemporary artistic creation. The paintings, sculptures and drawings that make up the exhibition are by French and international artists, both established and emerging, and the exhibition is regularly renewed.
On the other hand, the design collection, each piece of which has been carefully selected for its original edition, its unique history, its noble materials or its remarkable shape, punctuates the different worlds of the shop. These pieces, which have left their mark on the history of design, blend into a setting where the decorative arts have always held a special place. Each month, discover this collection during a cultural visit through a thematic tour combining contemporary art and decorative arts.
The ON: Discover the unique contemporary art and design collections of Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche and the amazing history of the department store's architecture.
