Ma Madeleine à moi, staged by Pietro Scaglione, in partnership with the Quenin de Lelièvre Paris brand, on the occasion of Paris Deco Off and Maison & Objet in the City, from January 19 to February 24, 2024

With the extravagance it’s known for, the Galerie Vauclair presents its new exhibition “My Madeleine.” Everyone is free to find a Proustian literary reference, a gourmet idea, or a tribute to Madeleine Castaing, the legendary antiquary decorator of a radiant Paris from the post-war years to the 90s.

At the heart of this exhibition is the meeting between Laurence Vauclair and Emmanuel Lelièvre. Before that, it was a shared heritage that brought them together: the weekends spent at the Flea Markets and a deep respect for the artistic and intellectual heritage of the previous century. While Laurence has always worked in favor of this love for the history of decorative arts, Emmanuel Lelièvre revived the former Lyon silk brand Quenin, acquired fifty years earlier by his father. Emmanuel and Laurence modernize a classical repertoire and integrate it into their own style. This marks the beginning of a lasting partnership, with Galerie Vauclair and the Quenin brand making the bold bet of a lush harmony between heritage preservation and the exaltation of current trends.

The exhibition “My Madeleine” initiates this soft ambition, shared by Pietro Scaglione, Artistic Director of the Pinto Interior Architecture Agency, who has been invited for a carte blanche within the walls of Galerie Vauclair. Through this triple collaboration, the loop is closed between Rue du Mail, the home of the Lelièvre brand, and Rue d’Aboukir, the home of the Pinto Agency, a neighborhood dear to Laurence Vauclair’s heart. As a child, she visited her grandfather, the tailor, MP, and intellectual Paul Vauclair, whose offices and cutting workshop were located on Rue d’Aboukir. A wonderful coincidence or a wink from fate? Today, the Pinto Agency offices are located directly across from this spot…

In the shared imagination of Galerie Vauclair and Pietro Scaglione, the laughter of Santo Sospir, the iconic residence once decorated by Madeleine Castaing, echoes. Emmanuel Lelièvre brings his textile expertise and beautifully dresses this new scenography. In a final contemporary touch, the Pinto Agency unveils a tableware set of its design.

Just as Cocteau’s “tattoos” define the walls of Santo Sospir, the three protagonists of this decor each leave their signature. When entering the Galerie Vauclair, the myriad of their influences in dialogue captivates the five senses of the viewer. Colors, fabrics, scents, and delights blend in reciprocal relationships. One cannot dream of Santo Sospir without feeling a bit of a poet. This house was a hub for artists of all kinds: literature, poetry, and cinema; these plural arts were the fruits of the fraternal friendship between Francine Weisweiller and Jean Cocteau, and vice versa. Once again, Laurence and Denis adopt Madeleine Castaing’s motto: “I create homes as others write poems.”