De La Espada - AMÉLIE DU CHALARD: BRINGING ART HOME

“I've always lived in places surrounded by works of art without it ever being intimidating, so our way of doing things is natural and simple. The idea is really to welcome everyone.”

At De La Espada, we love art and we love frequenting art galleries and museums. We are also aware of how unwelcoming many of these spaces can feel and how this can breed a sense of disconnection from the artwork — something that, unfortunately, can keep many people from feeling art is for them. At its best, art can make us feel much more connected to ourselves, to others, and to the deeper themes of life; but sometimes, one needs to be invited in. Gallerist, curator and entrepreneur Amélie Du Chalard, owner of contemporary art gallery Amelie Maison D’Art, has made it her mission to help others feel as comfortable engaging with and living with art as she is.

Having grown up with a sculptor mother and an art collector father, Amélie Du Chalard has always been surrounded by art — at home and at the numerous exhibitions and studios she has visited throughout her life. She started building her personal art collection in her teens through gifted pieces, then, when working as a banker in the early part of her career, started building her collection in earnest. Combined with her love of design, her home became a showcase for her curatorial vision, and a comfortable way for her friends to engage with art. When she witnessed how her home helped others understand how art could enhance their own homes, she saw a new calling for herself and pivoted to a career as a gallerist.

In 2015, she opened the doors to her gallery Amelie Maison D’Art. Located in an 18th century mansion in central Paris, the gallery is thoughtfully laid out across a series of rooms to create the feeling of home. The curated collection of abstract art — which includes painting, sculpture, work on paper, photography, art object, monumental installation, and in situ — is accompanied by carefully selected furniture and accessories. “I've always lived in places surrounded by works of art, rare furnishings and art objects without it ever being intimidating, so our way of doing things is natural and simple. The idea is really to welcome everyone, whatever their habits and relationship to artworks, with simplicity,” Du Chalard says.

That welcome does not end with the space itself, but extends to the services offered by the gallery, ranging from collection development support to interior design. Advisors offer a personalised service to help collectors, novice or experienced, find the right artworks for them, with works ranging in price from under €500 to over €40,000. The gallery team also organises events to help the collectors engage in other ways — studio tours, museum visits, and events with art historians — to gain a deeper understanding of and connection to the works.

“In the gallery, we organise evenings called Apprendre à Voir (Learning to See) with one of Europe's leading historians, Pierre Wat. We invite twenty or so of our collectors to join him, and the idea is to walk around the gallery getting everyone talking and trying to express why they like or dislike a work. It's not so easy to express your feelings about a work, especially an abstract one, and it forces you to do some really interesting introspective work. We also make off-site visits, either to artists' studios — over lunch or dinner — or to museums in the company of art critics, to better understand a work,” Du Chalard explains.

The gallery focuses on abstract art specifically, “because, for me, it's the strongest expression of an artist's creative freedom: he has to find his own language, his own pictorial identity!” says Du Chalard. Supporting both established and emerging artists, the gallery contributes to the recognition of creators such as Frédéric Heurlier Cimolai, Tanguy Tolila, and Pius Fox, and is raising up a new generation of artists including Clément Mancini, Amber Moir and Jade Mara.

A special exhibition opened at Amelie Maison D’Art during Maison et Objet in January 2024 that placed the artwork of Ludovic Philippon in dialogue with furniture designed by Anthony Guerrée for De La Espada. The exhibition was a pure expression of Du Chalard’s vision of art and design in harmony with one another and with our daily lives.

“I love the poetry of [Anthony Guerrée’s] design and the originality of his drawings, which are very close to sculpture, in fact. The Deneb Desk and Altair Chair have sculptural profiles, for instance! He manages to strike a balance between grace and rigour that I really like — and which echoes Philippon's work very well indeed. It's not easy to blend [art and design] perfectly; you often have a predominant one. With Anthony, the two are perfectly balanced. Certain pieces like the Hadar Lounge Chair — with the curve of its seat and the architecture of its legs — will become iconic, in my opinion,” explains Du Chalard.

After the month-long exhibition of Philippon’s work, the gallery walls returned to presenting artwork by a range of artists, including Pola Carmen, Enrich R., and Amela Rasi, among others. This artwork complements the furniture of Anthony Guerrée for the duration of his installation until 18 March 2024.

The warmhearted, approachable and pedagogical manner in which Amelie Maison D’Art operates has earned them devoted clients across the world. The deep affection their many American collectors have for the Paris gallery inspired Du Chalard to establish a new location in New York City, which will open its doors in March 2024. As ever, her focus is on the human side of the business, not only supporting collectors, but the artists she represents: “Our deployment in the U.S. is also a way of continuing to develop the reputation of our artists: it's the first and most powerful market in the world!”

The New York gallery, located in Soho, will have the same warm approach as the Paris location, enveloping New Yorkers into the cosy feeling of visiting an art collector’s home. Established artists will be represented as well as young, up-and-coming artists including: “Jean-Philippe Lagouarde [who] worked on some of the blotting papers which were soaked in baths of pigments drawn from the precise locations; works as memories of places that glow magnificently with light. Nuria Maria, a Dutch artist, who has a more lyrical painting [style] with something very musical and spontaneous in it. The weather is a significant subject for her paintings — she tries to capture the atmosphere of a certain moment, a day in the season, a memory, a certain type of light,” shares Du Chalard.

We believe everyone can benefit from a closer relationship with art, and are excited that Du Chalard is continuing to bring her vision to the wider world. In addition to her extraordinary galleries, she is also providing opportunities for a personal connection with art through ​​Maison de Collectionneurs Ambroise, a network of luxury holiday homes inspired by those of art collectors. Each home benefits from Du Chalard’s curatorial eye, merging vintage and one-of-a-kind furniture with a carefully selected collection of contemporary artworks, ranging from painting to drawing to sculpture, at a variety of price points. Guests can enjoy their stay with the artwork then purchase any pieces with which they feel a particularly strong connection. This keeps the art collection dynamic, with new pieces coming in when others are purchased. Guests are also invited to enjoy art in the wider area, with a cultural concierge service connecting them to local contemporary art galleries and offering the company of an art critic or visual artist on the outings or just preferred access to the best exhibitions.

Amélie Du Chalard draws upon the gifts of her upbringing to shepherd others into a world of companionship with art. She fosters personal connections to abstract art through sensory experiences, individualised advice, inspiring events, and interior services. Always with the human experience in mind, her team is as kind and engaging as they are knowledgeable; they reject an exclusionary approach to the art world in favour of one that invites everyone in, drawing on the deepest aim of art: connection.

“I believe that works of art belong in living spaces, not hidden away in free ports.”

By Phoebe Montoya