אמנות זכוכית בגלריה לאפייט בפריז || פרויקטים

THE DOME AT THE GALERIES LAFAYETTE PARIS
HAUSSMANN STORE
Architect: Ferdinand Chanut
Glass artist: Jacques Grüber
Ironwork: Edouard Schenck
Overall height: 43 metres
Date: 1912
Construction: less than 6 months, from June to October 1912
 THE ''TO BREATHE'' PROJECT
Dates: 14 April to 30 June 2023
Surface covered: 1,000 square metres of glass
Number of panes: 660
Company commissioned: JADE
Set-up time: 12 days

בהזמנתה של גלרי לאפייט, האמנית הקוריאנית Kimsooja מאירה את הארכיטקטורה המפוארת של חנות הכלבו עם המיצב שלה מונחה אור To'' Breathe''. על ידי כיסוי כיפת הזכוכית האיקונית בחנות פריז האוסמן של גלרי לאפייט בסרט מיוחד שמפזר את האור הטבעי לכל צבעי הקשת. Kimsooja הופכת את המשטחים החיצוניים והחללים הפנימיים של הכיפה לתוך נופים ססגוניים המשתנים ומשתנים לאורך היום. עבור מיצב ספציפי לאתר זה [הראשון בפריז בקנה מידה זה], Kimsooja בוחנת את האיכויות החושיות והמדיטטיביות של הבניין על ידי מיקוד תשומת הלב של המבקרים באור כדי ליצור סביבה מתאימה להתבוננות.


Kimsooja, Respirar - Una Mujer Espejo / To Breathe - A Mirror Woman, Crystal Palace,
Photo Jaeho Chong Courtesy Kimsooja Studio

Rendering image of the dome, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann Courtesy Galeries Lafayette

Centred around the store’s historic glass dome, Kimsooja’s installation creates an unprecedented dialogue with this iconic element of Galeries Lafayette’s architectural heritage. When it was first built back in 1912, the dome flooded the store’s interior with a multitude of hues thanks to the stained-glass windows designed by Jacques Grüber, since removed and replaced with white glass. By cleverly bringing coloured light back into the heart of this historic art nouveau building, Kimsooja’s installation pays poetic tribute to the original project and atmosphere. To Breathe weaves a strong but delicate thread between works of art imagined more than a century apart.

TO BREATHE SERIES
Kimsooja first conceived To Breathe in 2006, where she conceptually transformed the bottari, a socio-culturally charged object that means “bundle” in korean, into an architectural form. Using diffraction film, the Korean artist wraps entire spaces to sublimate their architecture and reveal their stories, like bottari bundles made of light. A work in motion, To Breathe reacts to the natural environment, harnessing the way light changes over time, in accordance with the weather and as the sun moves across the sky. When rays of light pass through it, the diffraction film creates ephemeral rainbow spectrums that shift and change as people move around the space. The artist invites viewers to observe and experience these unique, iridescent landscapes of colour, brought about by the principles of “non-doing” and “non-making” that are central to her work. 

GRÜBER TO KIMSOOJA
Dreaming of a “luxury bazaar” where the sun’s rays would shine down through a domed roof, bathing the grand hall in a golden light and illuminating the merchandise on display,Galeries Lafayette founder Théophile Bader called on renowned artists of the time to create this architectural gem. Designed by architect Ferdinand Chanut, the dome’s wavy structure injects movement into daylight as it enters the building. Often described as neo-byzantine, the decorative work on the dome reflects the influence of orientalism, in fashion at the time. This is noticeable in the golden elements and in the richly sculpted ironwork by Edouard Schenck,which radiates out like sunbeams to frame the glass panesthat let in the warm, coloured light.
To create a rich and colourful natural light show that would evolve throughout the day, Jacques Grüber designed the stained-glass windows using a colour scale ranging from turquoise blue to vermilion red. The aim was to capture the viewer’s eye with intense colours rather than decorative motifs, to provide not just a pretty backdrop but a truly magical atmosphere. Removed during World War II, these coloured panes have since been replaced with white ones. More than 110 years after its construction, Kimsooja gives the dome back its colours, using the natural characteristics of light in keeping with Jacques Grüber’s initial intentions.


Exterior view of the dome of the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, photograph,1912
Courtesy Galeries Lafayette

Kimsooja, Rendering image To Breathe,interstitial dome space, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, 2022
Courtesy Kimsooja Studio

“TO BREATHE”
A unique and intimate To Breathe experience will be available to visitors in the heart of the iconic glass dome.In the interstitial dome space, the sound of the artist breathing will permeate the air, along with the light transformed by her artwork titled A Weaving Factory, 1994 - 2013. Initially slow and barely perceptible, her inhalation and exhalation will gradually accelerate to become increasingly present –until the vitality of breathing intermingles with the sensory experience of colour. Surrounded by the rhythmic sound of breathing and the shifting chromatic landscape, the visitor is offered a unique opportunity for meditation and contemplation. By making two essential elements of life – air and light – visible and tangible, the artist suffuses the store with creative energy and invites each visitor to actively experience it for themselves.
To Breathe echoes a particular aspect of Galeries Lafayette’s history. Back in the early 20th century, when the air was thought to be cleaner at altitude than in the streets, Parisians flocked to the department store to delight in its pleasures and take advantage of the panoramic view. Standing on the rooftop terrace, near the glass dome, they would look out over the city and breathe in the fresh air, enjoying a unique experience in the French capital. 


Interior view of the great hall and the original dome, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, postcard, 1912
Courtesy Galeries Lafayette