Latest news with #Vallauris
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Forbes
Driving The French Riviera In The Name Of Design
The tile beneath my foot in a café in Nice was a muted green with a chipped corner and the faint trace of a palm. I asked the waiter where it came from. 'Probably Vallauris,' he said, wiping down the next table. 'It's a commune on the outskirts of Antibes, they used to make everything there.' That was reason enough to go looking. These were the kinds of details that have long drawn artists, architects, and design obsessives to this coastline. You don't need a dealer, a docent, or even much of a plan. Just a few days, a car, and a willingness to follow the thread. And if you have those things, here's how to spend five days chasing design along the French Riviera. The trip begins in Nice. Here, the draw isn't the pebble beaches or the casinos, it's the access. Within an hour of the city are some of the most fascinating structures of the 20th century, all tucked into cliff sides and pine forests that smell faintly of salt and jasmine. Hôtel du Couvent, Nice Hôtel du Couvent Start with a check-in at Hôtel du Couvent , a former 17th-century convent reborn as an 88‑room sanctuary. A sight to see in its own right, each room—some of the most gorgeously conceived I've ever slept in—ranges in size and view, but all boast natural light, vaulted ceilings, and curated artworks. On‑site offerings include a Roman‑inspired spa with thermal baths, a hillside lap pool, herb‑filled cloister gardens, three restaurants, and even an apothecary staffed by an herbalist. From there, make your way to Villa Kérylos. In 1902, a French archaeologist named Théodore Reinach built himself a Greek dream on the Riviera. Perched above the sea in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Villa Kérylos is a meticulous reconstruction of an ancient Athenian house, complete with Doric columns, mosaic floors, and bronze fixtures cast using classical methods. It's obsessive, eccentric, and slightly out of place. Which is exactly the point. Villa Kérylos © Colombe Clier / Centre des monuments nationaux A short coastal drive away lies Cap Moderne . It's home to three radically different structures within spitting distance of one another: Eileen Gray's E-1027, Le Corbusier's Cabanon, and a modest railway worker's house he painted with murals. Gray's house, a white jewel box perched above the sea, was designed in 1929 as a retreat for her close friend, architect Jean Badovici. Though Badovici's name appeared on the plans, the design was entirely Gray's. Every detail was deliberate. The modular layout, the built-in furniture, the way light moves through the space. Years later, Le Corbusier, a guest of Badovici who painted murals on several of Gray's walls, built his own getaway a few steps away. The 13-square-meter wooden cabanon constructed in 1952 had no kitchen, no electricity, and barely enough room to turn around—but Corbusier saw it as a perfect cell, designed 'for meditation, working, and resting.' After a gorgeous night's sleep at Hôtel du Couvent , the following morning is for Jean Cocteau, or rather for the house he embellished over a summer in the 1950s. Villa Santo Sospir is less a home than a canvas. Its white walls are tattooed with mythological figures and gods that Cocteau drew freehand, often with nothing more than a burnt matchstick. Cocteau lived there himself as a guest of Francine Weisweiller, the villa's owner and one of his most important patrons, turning her home into a kind of experimental sketchbook over the course of a single summer. Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild Just down the road sits another landmark of the Riviera's golden age: Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild . Commissioned by Béatrice de Rothschild in 1905, the villa was modeled after Italian Renaissance palaces and filled with porcelain, Gobelins tapestries, and 18th-century French furniture. Its nine themed gardens—ranging from Spanish to Japanese—are arranged around a central musical fountain that performs on the hour. From there, let the road pull you inland to Saint-Paul de Vence. The real draw isn't the village itself but Fondation Maeght , a modern art complex nestled among the pines with works by Miró, Giacometti, Braque, and Chagall—artists who weren't just shown here but stayed, worked, and sometimes got tipsy on the terrace. If you've timed it right, this is also where you check in for the night: La Colombe d'Or Hotel and Restaurant . Founded in 1920 as a humble café called 'Chez Robinson,' the property evolved into an auberge during the interwar years, drawing the likes of Picasso, Matisse, and Braque. A Calder hangs by the pool. A Léger stares out from the dining room wall. The owner, Paul Roux, began accepting paintings in lieu of payment, eventually building one of the most intimate—and accidental—collections of 20th-century modern art in France. Musée Picasso Jean Louis Andral The third day starts in Antibes at the Musée Picasso , set in the Château Grimaldi, where the artist briefly worked in 1946. The museum's scale reflects its origin: Picasso donated 23 paintings and 44 drawings to the city after working briefly in the building, then known as the Grimaldi Museum. Today, its collection focuses on the works he produced during his stay, including La Joie de Vivre , alongside ceramics and prints from his Vallauris period. If you have time, Vallauris, as the kind waiter in Nice expressed, is worth the detour. The quaint town is still dotted with old ceramic workshops, and some showrooms and museums like the and home to the Musée Magnelli, Musée de la Céramique , housed in a 16th-century château. From there, you snake west to Théoule-sur-Mer to tour Maison Bernard (with seasonal openings), designed by Hungarian-French architect Antti Lovag. Known as the 'bubble house', Lovag believed that straight lines were contrary to nature and human movement. The house, constructed circa 1971, is made of sprayed concrete shaped over steel mesh, forming interconnected domes that echo the surrounding terrain. Continue to Saint-Tropez for a night at Airelles Château de la Messardière , a 19th-century palace turned five-star retreat nestled above the Bay of Pampelonne. After all, every design seeker needs a castle to crash in. Maison Brenard Droits Yves Gellie Rise for your next stop: Hyères. Specifically, Villa Noailles —a Cubist villa turned cultural center that has become a pilgrimage site for fans of fashion and design. Commissioned by art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles in the 1920s and designed by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, the house hosted Dalí, Man Ray, and Buñuel—and continues to host photography and fashion festivals today. Its raw, geometric forms predate what we now think of as modern, and its terrace remains one of the best places to take in the town below. By late afternoon, the drive continues to Commanderie de Peyrassol , a centuries-old estate long rumored to have ties to the Knights Templar, now reimagined as a vineyard and contemporary sculpture park. There are works by Antony Gormley and Bernar Venet scattered across the property, along with a rotating roster of exhibitions and a growing permanent collection. Château La Coste © Stéphane ABOUDARAM | WE ARE CONTENT(S) As dusk arrives, you'll want to pull into Château La Coste , an estate in the Luberon where vines line villas and sculptures dot the landscape like a game of hide-and-seek. Founded in 2004, Irish art collector Patrick McKillen invited leading architects and artists to create site-specific works across the vineyard's 600-acre estate. The collection includes a steel sculpture by Richard Serra nestled in the olive groves, a twisting glass-and-metal pavilion by Frank Gehry, and a cultural center by Tadao Ando constructed from concrete, glass, and water. You could spend a night here. You probably should. There are far worse ways to enjoy a glass of wine before bed. The final stretch leads to the sea. From here, it's a short drive to Marseille, where Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse looms over the city like a concrete battleship. The rooftop cultural center, MAMO , holds rotating exhibitions and installations by international artists. If you're lucky, you can tour a private apartment restored to Corbusier's original vision, down to the color-blocked walls and sliding cabinetry. Top it off with a quick stop at the Musée des Beaux-Arts , housed in the grandiose Palais Longchamp. It's a classical note to end on—19th-century oils, architectural pomp, and a reminder that even in the design-heavy South, the old stuff still holds its own. Tuba Club Tuba Club In Cassis, your last night at Tuba Club waits—part restaurant, part micro-hotel, part cliffside social club for creative types who shy away from the likes of Built into an old diving club, it's a Mediterranean-style beach shack with one of the best sunset views on the coast. By the time you leave, you'll have looped through over a century of creativity in five days: from Greco-Roman fantasias to modernist shrines, postwar radicalism to contemporary art museums. And somewhere between the light and the limestone, the Riviera will have worked its spell.
Malay Mail
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Picasso ceramics, once hidden, now up for grabs in Geneva
GENEVA, June 16 — A clutch of one-off and hitherto unseen ceramic plates and dishes by Pablo Picasso are going under the hammer in Geneva on June 19. Emblematic motifs from Picasso's artistic universe — pigeons, fish, a goat, a bull, and a bird adorn the colourful plates and dishes. 'It's a truly exceptional collection. The plates and dishes we have here are real Picasso works,' Bernard Piguet, director of the Piguet auction house in Geneva, told AFP. 'These unique pieces belonged to Picasso's estate, and in the early 1980s, his heirs gave them to one of their friends,' he said. The close friend, a French art lover whose name has not been revealed, kept them until his death. His heirs have decided to put the ceramics up for sale. Made between 1947 and 1963 in the Madoura workshop in Vallauris on the southeast French coast, the ceramic artworks are being exhibited to the general public for the first time ahead of Thursday's auction. 'Reasonable' prices The seven pieces are being sold in separate lots. Two large platters decorated with pigeons are both expected to fetch between 30,000 and 50,000 Swiss francs (RM157,000-RM261,700). A third plate depicting three blue, pink, and brick-coloured fish on a white background, resembling a child's drawing, is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 francs. A thin brick, titled 'Head of a Bearded Man', and painted with ceramic pastels in yellow, white, garnet, brown, blue orange and green, has the same estimate. Glazed on a painted background in shades of grey, brown, and black, a terracotta plate depicting a goat's head bears the prestigious stamp 'Original Picasso print' on the back. It is valued at 20,000-30,000 francs. The two others feature a bull on a hexagonal terracotta tile (15,000-20,000 francs), and a stylised bird on a plate painted in black and white (15,000-25,000 francs). 'It's a lot,' Piguet said of the price. 'But don't forget that these are works of art in their own right and unique pieces' without replicas. 'If you step back from Picasso's work and his drawings, which are becoming practically unaffordable today, you have here original works by Picasso that command a reasonable estimate.' New outlet Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The prolific Spanish painter died in 1973, aged 91. This photograph taken on June 5, 2025 shows the white earthenware plate 'Bird' (2.6.1963) by Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer Pablo Picasso, at the Piguet auction house in Geneva, prior to the auction of seven unique and never-before-seen ceramic works by the artist. — AFP pic He created thousands of plates, platters, vases, pitchers, and other earthenware utensils in the Madoura ceramics studio, run by the pottery couple Georges and Suzanne Ramie. After World War II, 'Picasso was already an internationally-renowned artist,' said Adeline Bisch Balerna, head of paintings and sculptures at Piguet. 'He had already opened up a huge number of avenues for all artists; the great, well-known works had been created, and he was seeking new means of expression for his art.' Picasso would visit the Madoura studio, meet Georges Ranie, and be 'captivated by all the possibilities offered' by this new artistic outlet, she explained. Piguet is also auctioning two Picasso works 'never before seen on the art market', from the same family friend's collection: 'Serenade' (1919), an Indian ink and watercolour painting estimated at 20,000-30,000 francs, and the pencil drawing 'Famille balzacienne' (1962), valued at 80,000-120,000 francs. Unseen Klein Meanwhile the contemporary art in Thursday's sale includes one of French artist Yves Klein's first blue monochromes, in what is its first appearance on the art market, according to Piguet auction house. From 1959, 'Monochrome bleu sans titre (IKB 328)', estimated at 100,000-150,000 francs, is painted in International Klein Blue, the deep blue hue developed by the artist himself. 'In daylight, it really has this luminous blue, this completely fascinating Klein blue. And when you put it indoors, you see it as a dark blue, almost midnight blue,' said Bernard Piguet. Klein died in 1962 aged 34, following a series of heart attacks. The work comes from the collection of the Swiss artist couple Muriel and Gerald Minkoff, who liked to exchange their works with their contemporaries. It was discovered by their successors in their Geneva apartment, according to Piguet. — AFP
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Picasso on a Plate: Unseen Ceramics Up for Auction
A clutch of one-off and hitherto unseen ceramic plates and dishes by Pablo Picasso are going under the hammer in Geneva on June 19. Emblematic motifs from Picasso's artistic universe -- pigeons, fish, a goat, a bull, and a bird adorn the colorful plates and dishes, AFP said. "It's a truly exceptional collection. The plates and dishes we have here are real Picasso works," Bernard Piguet, director of the Piguet auction house in Geneva, told AFP. "These unique pieces belonged to Picasso's estate, and in the early 1980s, his heirs gave them to one of their friends," he said. The close friend, a French art lover whose name has not been revealed, kept them until his death. His heirs have decided to put the ceramics up for sale. Made between 1947 and 1963 in the Madoura workshop in Vallauris on the southeast French coast, the ceramic artworks are being exhibited to the general public for the first time ahead of Thursday's auction. 'Reasonable' prices The seven pieces are being sold in separate lots. Two large platters decorated with pigeons are both expected to fetch between 30,000 and 50,000 Swiss francs ($37,000-$61,500). A third plate depicting three blue, pink, and brick-colored fish on a white background, resembling a child's drawing, is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 francs. A thin brick, titled "Head of a Bearded Man", and painted with ceramic pastels in yellow, white, garnet, brown, blue orange and green, has the same estimate. Glazed on a painted background in shades of grey, brown, and black, a terracotta plate depicting a goat's head bears the prestigious stamp "Original Picasso print" on the back. It is valued at 20,000-30,000 francs. The two others feature a bull on a hexagonal terracotta tile (15,000-20,000 francs), and a stylized bird on a plate painted in black and white (15,000-25,000 francs). "It's a lot," Piguet said of the price. "But don't forget that these are works of art in their own right and unique pieces" without replicas. "If you step back from Picasso's work and his drawings, which are becoming practically unaffordable today, you have here original works by Picasso that command a reasonable estimate." New outlet Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The prolific Spanish painter died in 1973, aged 91. He created thousands of plates, platters, vases, pitchers, and other earthenware utensils in the Madoura ceramics studio, run by the pottery couple Georges and Suzanne Ramie. After World War II, "Picasso was already an internationally-renowned artist," said Adeline Bisch Balerna, head of paintings and sculptures at Piguet. "He had already opened up a huge number of avenues for all artists; the great, well-known works had been created, and he was seeking new means of expression for his art." Picasso would visit the Madoura studio, meet Georges Ranie, and be "captivated by all the possibilities offered" by this new artistic outlet, she explained. Piguet is also auctioning two Picasso works "never before seen on the art market", from the same family friend's collection: "Serenade" (1919), an Indian ink and watercolor painting estimated at 20,000-30,000 francs, and the pencil drawing "Famille balzacienne" (1962), valued at 80,000-120,000 francs. Unseen Klein Meanwhile the contemporary art in Thursday's sale includes one of French artist Yves Klein's first blue monochromes, in what is its first appearance on the art market, according to Piguet auction house. From 1959, "Monochrome bleu sans titre (IKB 328)", estimated at 100,000-150,000 francs, is painted in International Klein Blue, the deep blue hue developed by the artist himself. "In daylight, it really has this luminous blue, this completely fascinating Klein blue. And when you put it indoors, you see it as a dark blue, almost midnight blue," said Bernard Piguet. Klein died in 1962 aged 34, following a series of heart attacks. The work comes from the collection of the Swiss artist couple Muriel and Gerald Minkoff, who liked to exchange their works with their contemporaries. It was discovered by their successors in their Geneva apartment, according to Piguet.
