Owner of the largest private collection of French Art Nouveau in Europe, Perrier-JouĂ«t has always been inextricably linked to art. Wishing to share its more than 200-year-old heritage with the widest possible audience, it now presents its first-ever museum exhibition, âA Banquet of Wonders, Delighting in the Worldâ, at the Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archeology in Epernay in the Champagne region of France. On view through December 11, 2023, the exhibition curated by artist and design historian, Benjamin LoyautĂ©, originated from discussions between the museum and the Perrier-JouĂ«t team, who wished to give access to key pieces of its Art Nouveau collection, some of which are shown for the first time to the public. For LoyautĂ©, creating this exhibition was a way of bringing together the past, the present and the future.
What is the main idea behind the exhibition âA Banquet of Wonders, Delighting in the Worldâ? Is it really to showcase Perrier-JouĂ«tâs collection from 1811 to its contemporary collaborations?
There were several key principles that guided us through the whole process actually. Firstly, sharing and transmitting: the collection as both a material and symbolic heritage and as a living legacy; the banquet as a place for sharing. Secondly, to assert and engage oneself: the collection as a means to converse and to manifest oneself to the world. Thirdly, to savor, celebrate and enchant the world: the collection with the banquet as a ceremonial object, a vector of sharing to celebrate the living and to marvel.
The title of the exhibition is inspired by a rare 18th-century volume, Le Tableau des Merveilles de lâUnivers, which belonged to Henri Gallice, the grandson of Pierre-Nicolas Perrier and Rose-AdĂ©laĂŻde JouĂ«t, the founders of Perrier-JouĂ«t. Tell me more about this book and why you decided to name the exhibition after it.
The book tells us about a world made up of creations, oceans, sun, animals. The word âwondersâ has several meanings and I like the idea of an eighth wonder, which would be our way of seeing the world, of tasting it and of interacting with it to glimpse a world collaborating more and more with nature. The nature-culture relationship is very present in the exhibition. There is the natural wonderful and the cultural wonderful. The exhibition unveils contemporary design prowess. The talking objects (wonders of words) and engaged objects invented by Ămile GallĂ© tell us about the world, and commensality as an object of discovery allows us to see the banquet as a place of words and commitment to make the world.
What is your definition of a banquet, and how is it representative of Perrier-JouĂ«tâs desire to encourage sharing and the exchange of ideas?
It is the place of possibilities, of experiences, of fantasy, of sharing, of words, a land of endless exploration. It must also be a manifesto composed of authenticity and discernment, as it must summon the marvelous and its theatricality.
What criteria did you use to select the 200 pieces in the exhibition, and how did you decide on this split of showing 50 % of the pieces from Perrier-JouĂ«tâs collection and the remaining half from the collection of the Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archeology and loans from other museums and private collectors?
The possible dialog between works that are esthetic, literary and even philosophical or sociological. The precision of the choices is made in relation to the chaptering of the exhibition, which I wanted as a book, a fable, a tale. A 17th-century ear work placed in relation to a 1900 biomorphic work reminds us that nothing is old because everything is created at a contemporary moment in history.
Tell me about the wine glasses on display.
I work on researching the most beautiful Art Nouveau glass in the world, and the Perrier-Jouët glass collection is important. I have focused on seeking wine and champagne glasses for a few years. The drinking glass allows us to revisit science, technology, the era and the beauty of the links between science, know-how and the art of wine. Like napkins, glasses speak and become world objects, word objects, they tell us how to taste the world.
Among the works you are presenting, which ones are the highlights?
A few of my favorites are the glass collection of Perrier-JouĂ«t, Karl Koepping, the little radish-shaped cup of the birth of Venus, the knife from the Louvre and the dragonfly table by Ămile GallĂ© from the Perrier-JouĂ«t collection. My favorites are also all the contemporary designers who are looking for new formal and practical applications around objects and tableware. I remain on the idea that history teaches us that the creator wishes to sublimate nature or represent it and that today it is man collaborating with nature. I am thinking of Gavin Munro whose creations are not without complexity, just as Marcin Rusak unwittingly takes us back to the world of Jean-Jacques Grandvilleâs Animated Flowers from the mid-19th century.
Describe the long sinuous dining table in the banquet room, how you came up with the idea and how you chose the pieces exhibited on this table.
The idea came from a joint reflection with the scenographers on the dynamics of the banquet, on the principles of the movement, of the heritage which is transmitted, reflections also around the future of materials in the art of the table and dining. Here the symbol of infinity because for me, the past was the present and the future is taking shape in the present. It is also a form of freedom to make the table a space of reflection on the future by combining ancient and contemporary works oriented toward biodesign. It is the nature-culture interaction that must be put at the center of this dynamic form. To me, this was also inspired by Surrealist dinners and balls, but also and above all by the fascinating table plans, which few know of, by Joseph Gillier. They represent tables with tablecloths that form like gardens.