"Les Fleurs de la Passion" by Jean-Michel Othoniel

05/16/2024

Jean-Michel Othoniel was entrusted with the creation of an artwork on the facade of Cheval Blanc Paris. A carte blanche assignment for the artist, who drew inspiration from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements of the Samaritaine architectural complex to create "Les Fleurs de la Passion", a 17-meter-long bas-relief visible to all.

A tribute to Art Deco and Art Nouveau

The work is in line with the culture of the Cheval Blanc Maisons, where contemporary art is one of the brand's signatures. Each destination gives pride of place to artists, both inside and out - as an invitation to the art of living.

Respecting a listed facade, the work has been designed in complete freedom by the artist. It uses the original materials: metal, glass, and gold. “I was given total carte blanche.” explains Jean-Michel Othoniel, whose works are already on display in Cheval Blanc Courchevel and Cheval Blanc St-Barth. “It's like a window that opened onto the facade, and I was given the freedom to express myself.” he adds.

A sunset encounter

Facing the Left Bank, the artwork plays with the sun's omnipresent rays at all hours. “Behind this artistic gesture is something of a coat of arms.” says Jean-Michel Othoniel. “You have to imagine the sun setting in front of this facade. The gold will sparkle, and I think it will be very spectacular. Just long enough for the sun to set. To be there, on the Pont Neuf, and to see this facade and these passion flowers light up...”.

Discretion & poetry

Like a dream, the horse at the center of the artwork seems ready to spring from these golden flowers, before vanishing into the streets of the city - or joining the other works of art that populate the corridors of Cheval Blanc Paris... “The horse is like a discreet apparition in this forest of flowers.” adds Jean-Michel Othoniel. “Cheval Blanc Paris is a Maison imbued with poetry, where art and life mingle. It's a place that trusts artists and puts them forward too.”

Art de recevoir

“I'm always looking to create links with history, as I did in place Colette with the Kiosque des Noctambules, where I recreated a kind of madness before the theater: the theater before the theater.” insists Jean-Michel Othoniel. “Here too, this work on the facade of Cheval Blanc Paris is a public work, open to all: passers-by, strollers on the bridges of Paris.”

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