At first glance, Maison Lune, an art gallery in Los Angeles’ Venice neighborhood, looks just like home. Yes, there are paintings and ceramics on display, but there’s also a bed, full kitchen, and bathtub. And sometimes you can hear the laundry stumbling.
That’s because He is house.
In early 2022, when Sandrine Absera and Lubov Azria moved in, they immediately felt like it was a space to share.
“We thought it would be very selfish to live and live in such a beautiful space without opening it up to people – artists and innovators of all kinds,” said Ms Azria, 55, former BCBG Creative Officer Max Azria.
It’s also about rethinking the typical art display experience – a departure from the white-cube art gallery, said Ms Apsera, 45, an artist and designer. “We were drawn to the idea of it being an art gallery,” she said, but one that “you can sit in and not just be an empty box.”
The point, she continued, is to “really experience these works, with the feeling of being at home and—”
“Truly living it,” Ms. Azria said, completing her sentence.
Every three months, a new batch of work is shown in the three-story home and gallery, a charcoal-coloured building that sits next to one of the neighborhood’s canals. The last show, which was on display in the airy interior until July 20, featured works Wes Aderhold, an illustrator based in New York. The show’s premiere, which opened earlier this year, was a group exhibition curated by Gaia Jacquet-Matisse, the granddaughter of Henri Matisse.
But nearly every item in the space is coordinated, too, including houseplants, linens, rugs, vases, sofas, and chairs—not just what’s hanging on the walls.
said Daniel Sierra Dominguez, 28, curator and administrator mason color. “There is a huge gap in the way people who consume art think; they see it as this esoteric thing that is hard to access.”
Nothing here is out of the way: visitors can inquire about purchasing not only the art, but also any of the decorative objects, which are rearranged for each show. The hand-knotted silk rug from Henzel Studio is inspired by the decay of organic materials, with holes and uneven lines running through it. Plants & Spaces specializes in rare potted plants in custom pots. The gallery also works to create a fragrance that is sold as a candle or incense.
“It’s a 360-degree aesthetic consumption: smell, texture, sound, everything,” said Mr. Dominguez, referring what the exhibition does to the tradition of French salons, where art was discussed and critiqued in residential settings. (Another comparison that comes to mind: gallery-like The perfect futurewhich sells furnishings from a New York townhouse, an apartment in San Francisco, and a home in Los Angeles.)
Of course, it is not easy to keep a living space pristine enough to display artwork and designs there. But it helps that they have no small children, no pets, and “someone helps them every day of the week,” said Mrs. Abessera, with housekeeping.
The two women met while working together at BCBG, the fashion company founded by Ms. Azria’s husband, Max Azria, who passed away in 2019. Even then, Ms. Azria was known as a generous host.
in their 17 bedroom Holby Hills mansionAzrias rollicking necklace Saturday dinner It was attended by an elegant crowd of friends and celebrities. “Lubov and Max had hundreds of people coming over for Saturday dinner, and they were strangers they’d never met,” Ms. Absera said. “This feeling of completely opening your doors was already ingrained in the Lobov house.”
That house, which Mrs. Azria still owns, is known as Maison du Soleil. Maison Lune, the two ladies’ main residence, is somewhat quieter and quieter. (Hence the reference to the moon – which was also inspired by the round window above the bathtub).
But they keep their share of gallery gatherings: Recent examples include an evening cocktail hour during the Frieze Art Fair in February and a beauty master class in May with Tata Harper, founder of the natural skincare brand.
Eventually they hope to expand, with similar concept spaces in cities like Paris, Miami or New York. For now, it’s all about Venice, a region long known to attract artists and other creative residents. That bohemian spirit has been hard to find in recent years, as fancy shops and upscale restaurants have moved in and real estate prices have soared.
Ms. Azria said learning about this history is central to the gallery’s mission. Maison Lune is a place where people “in all different fields” should be able to “share their work and communicate,” she says. “That’s what it was like in Venice.”
“We haven’t seen it, but we’ve only been here for a year,” she added.
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