chance had it that my stay in paris coincided for a short couple of days with that of an old friend from vienna. we had to meet, of course. and i thought germain cafe was a great place for an afternoon drink in saint germain.
located on rue de buci 25-27, designed by iranian architect india mahdavi, created by superstar french entrepreneur thierry costes, the split level restaurant/lounge is inhabited by sophie, a split level xavier veilhan sculpture.
monsieur veilhan is a paris born and based artist who has very interesting things to show: own website, wiki, the selby and versailles show. i like his modern, multi-faceted style and i certainly enjoyed the company of sophie while catching up with my friend.
xavier veilhan talks about his sophie (2009)
in 2006, i made a portrait of my friend sophie for my personal exhibition at the emmanuel perrotin gallery (miami). three large statues of sophie stood alone in the gallery space: each offered a particular definition. when thierry costes proposed that i contribute to the space drawn by india mahdavi, he referred to pieces that i had already produced. but while visiting the restaurant’s construction site, spanning three floors, i realized that a vertical opening would be more spectacular and do the space more justice, as if the sculpture was pre-existent.
for more intimacy, make a reservation for the private germain paradisio bar and screening room in the basement.
click here for the menu, here for the program and here for the film catalogue.
photo credits: germain cafe
