ERIC SCHMITT
TO EXHIBIT HIS NEW COLLECTION OF VASES: THE BOHEMIAN SERIES
IN NEW YORK at Valerie Goodman Gallery
New York, April 21, 2010 – Internationally acclaimed French Decorative artist Eric Schmitt will exhibit his new collection, a limited edition of Bohemian hand-blown glass and bronze vases created for Fleurs Bella a creative studio working with flowers and various objects, and for Valerie Goodman Gallery a 20th Century and Contemporary Decorative Arts Gallery. Their collaboration will offer a unique event to present Eric Schmitt's work in an important exhibition, staged by the artist, and chosen by Valerie Goodman Gallery as the opening show for their new space at 315 East 91st Street, 4th floor, NYC 10127. It will open May 18 and last until June 30, 2010. Additional vases will also be shown at the studio of Fleurs Bella, 55 East 11th Street NYC 10003.
Schmitt’s beautifully updated, yet traditional objects manage to fascinate two widely divergent groups — those who wish that craftsmen made things the way they used to, and those who wish design would not linger in the past.
“My aim is to be in timeless harmony with the classic materials I use,” says Schmitt. “Bronze is my favorite metal — it is everlasting, yet gains a patina that changes subtly through the years. I like to create a patchwork of patinas and combine them with bohemian glass. My focus in using these materials is to create a different impression of the one generally given by everyday objects.”
A love of materials combined with an all-encompassing dedication to good design, burnished with charm and cleverness, have made Eric Schmitt a sought-after sculptor, artist, and architect — as evidenced, for example, by his eponymous furniture collection sold at Ralph Pucci in New York and his line for Christian Liaigre in France. Schmitt was a member of the mythical 80’s post modern movement En Attendant les Barbares. Through the 90’s Schmitt exhibited at the avant-garde gallery Neotu in Paris and in their New York gallery in 1991. Other solo exhibitions followed at Galerie St Pere and Galerie Cat Berro. More recently Eric created pieces for Jacques Grange's renovation of the Mark Hotel Mark Hotel in New York.
The exceptional pieces for sale in this exhibit are offered in a limited, numbered edition of 20, signed by the artist and delivered with a certificate of authenticity.
Fleurs Bella will create a number of unique and varied flower arrangements in some of the vases, which will change and evolve during the length of the exhibition.
This event is presented by Valerie Goodman
and Bella Meyer
FLEURS BELLA AND BELLA MEYER
Bella Meyer founded Fleurs Bella www.fleursBella.com in 2003, focusing her talents on arranging flowers much in the way an artist paints. The granddaughter of Marc Chagall, Bella’s imagination and artistic expression were always valued at home, grooming her for a life of creativity. Working with each flower’s innate beauty, Bella highlights and juxtaposes their natural shape and color, blending texture with tone, the individual flower with the entire arrangement, creating works nothing short of wonder. Fleurs Bella is located at 55 East 11th Street in Manhattan.
VALÉRIE GOODMAN
Since 2003, French-American dealer Valérie Goodman has focused on selling primarily 20th-century European furniture, lighting and decorative pieces. She is moving her gallery to a new location at 315 East 91st street, a building known for important other Decorative Arts galleries. Because the search for timeless pieces is her passion, starting this year Valérie presents contemporary French artists who produce rare and very fine functional pieces so characteristic of the French Decorative Arts.
“When I first met Eric in Paris and discovered his work I immediately knew I wanted to show his pieces because they combine the sobriety, beauty and quality that immediately makes them significant. I imagined a collaboration between Eric’s new vases and Bella’s art of flower arrangement, and wanted to create a one-of-a-kind event to celebrate these remarkable artists."