Mattia BONETTI (born 1952) [FRANCE] - Lot 64

Mattia BONETTI (born 1952) [FRANCE] Mask of a man Terracotta. Unique piece. Height: 22 cm - Width : 20 cm - Depth : 16 cm We would like to thank Mr. Mattia Bonetti, author of this mask, who kindly confirmed its authenticity and provided valuable information about this work. This unique light sculpture is part of a suite of sconces created in 1980 to decorate the staircase linking Le Privilège restaurant to the famous Le Palace nightclub in Paris. This ensemble became a collaboration between Élisabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. Painter Gérard Garouste, Élisabeth's husband, designed the club's decorative panels and called on his wife and Mattia to fit out and decorate the space. Together, they imagined a theatrical universe combining murals, masks, draped columns and upholstered seats. The success of this first project prompted them to join forces and pursue a collaboration that broke with the clean lines of design at the time. Decorators, designers and artists in their own right, Garouste and Bonetti were considered During the '80s and '90s, Garouste and Bonetti were considered to be the architects of a certain revival in the decorative arts, described as Neo-Baroque, even though their style incorporates and combines with fantasy and poetry multiple experiences from the past (antique art, 18th-century art, furniture styles of the '40s and '50s, etc.).