SONAM KHETAN’S INTIMATE PARIS

Shaping the future of fashion, Sonam Khetan is an Indian fashion and textile designer based in Paris and New Delhi. During the Spring/Summer Paris Fashion Week, Sonam photographed her collection in the heart of Paris’ elegant Left Bank. She’s taking us on the scene of the photoshoot for an exclusive look.

INSIDE THE APARTMENT OF KAMEL MENNOUR

Kamel Mennour’s apartment sits at the intersection of Saint-Germain des Prés and the Latin Quarter, the Carrefour de l’Odéon, in the 6th arrondissement in Paris.
From the balcony, one can see the Théâtre de l’Odéon, one of the city’s most creative spaces, and, beyond, the Luxembourg Garden. The location of the apartment is symbolic. Kamel is positioned right at the centre of the Paris art scene.
In the 24 years since he opened his first gallery, two blocks down, on the rue Mazarine, Mennour has become one of the most influential art dealers in Europe. He represents big names like Anish Kapoor, Alfred Jaar, Douglas Gordon, Lee Ufan, Tadashi Kawamata, Philippe Parreno, and Ugo Rondinone.

The apartment in the turn-of-the-century building is filled with artworks from the gallery’s artists and also other artists Mennour likes. Each artwork is especially chosen for it. Over time, as they change, they are seamlessly altering the energy of the place and adding to its history.

This is where the seven members of the Mennour family lived for years. In the dining room doorway, one can still see the traces of the markings used to track the growth of each of his five children. But when they became teenagers, it was time to move. However, Kamel loved the apartment so much he decided to buy it. Now, it is used to host dinners, receptions, and also to meet with collectors and friends.

Apart from art on the walls, the place has remained exactly as it was when Kamel and his family lived there. As the French say, “il est resté dans son jus”, meaning “it’s authentic”. You can almost feel the spirit of the family that lived there for so many years. No fancy interior decorator, no paint job. Authentic. And one of the most beautiful spaces on the Left Bank in Paris.

ART and ARTISTS

Some of contemporary art’s biggest stars line up the wall of Kamel Mennour’s apartment. Let’s meet them.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Camille Henrot

Born in 1978 in France, Camille Henrot lives and works between Berlin and New York. She moves from painting, drawing, film, sculpture and installation. She draws inspiration from media, psychoanalysis, literature, anthropology. In 2013, she won the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale.

Jean Dubuffet

Born in 1901 in France, Jean Dubuffet was a painter and sculptor. He was a major proponent of what is now called “art brut” - art made by people outside of the art world, artists suffering from mental conditions, or marginalized. He died in 1985.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Philippe Parreno
Born in 1964 in Algeria, Parreno lives and works in Paris. He considers exhibitions as a medium, an object in its own right. For example, in a recent exhibition at Kamel Mennour, all the gallery’s shades were moving according to movement of the Seine.

Huang Yong Ping
Born in 1954 in Xiamen, China, Huang Yong Ping died in Paris in 2019. He was one of the most original and provocative Chinese artists. In 1999, he represented France, his country of adoption, at the Venice Biennale.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Huang Yong Ping

Born in 1954 in Xiamen, China, Huang Yong Ping died in Paris in 2019. He was one of the most original and provocative Chinese artists. In 1999, he represented France, his country of adoption, at the Venice Biennale.

Ugo Rondinone

Born in 1964 in Switzerland, Rondinone lives and works in New York. He works across different mediums - painting, sculptures, photography, video, sound. He also creates powerful declarative sayings, one of which was above the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts: “We are Poems”.

Sam Francis

Sam Francis was born in California in 1923, where he also died in 1994. He was influenced by Jackson Pollock and belonged to the abstract expressionist movement of the 1950’s. One of his paintings, “Composition in Black and Blue”, was sold, in October 2022, for 13.5 million dollars.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Latifa Echakhch

Born in Morocco in 1974, Latifa Echakhch lives and works between Vevey and Martigny, in Switzerland. In 2022, she represented Switzerland with one of the most spectacular works, “The Concert,” which featured ritualistic fires present in each culture.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Philippe Parreno

Born in 1964 in Algeria, Parreno lives and works in Paris. He considers exhibitions as a medium, an object in its own right. For example, in a recent exhibition at Kamel Mennour, all the gallery’s shades were moving according to movement of the Seine.

Huang Yong Ping

Born in 1954 in Xiamen, China, Huang Yong Ping died in Paris in 2019. He was one of the most original and provocative Chinese artists. In 1999, he represented France, his country of adoption, at the Venice Biennale.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Douglas Gordon

Born in 1966 in Glasgow, Scotland, Douglas Gordon’s work deals with the human condition, memory, the passage of time, but also life and death, good and evil. In 1996, he was awarded the Turner Prize, U.K.’s most prestigious art prize.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lee Ufan

Born in 1936 in Korea, Lee Ufan is one of the most important contemporary artists. He works in Paris and Japan. He’s one of the main artists from the “Mono-Ha” movement (“School of things”). In 2010, the Lee Ufan Museum opened on the island of Naoshima, Japan. In April 2022, the artist opened his foundation in Arles, in the south of France, in a beautiful 17th century house.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sam Francis

Sam Francis was born in California in 1923, where he also died in 1994. He was influenced by Jackson Pollock and belonged to the abstract expressionist movement of the 1950’s. One of his paintings, “Composition in Black and Blue”, was sold, in October 2022, for 13.5 million dollars.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nobuyoshi Araki

Born in Tokyo in 1940, is one of the greatest living photographers and artists. He has been hugely prolific, publishing over 500 books. His photography is straddling the line between eroticism and art. His book, Sentimental Journey, which chronicles his marriage and then the last months of his wife Yoko, is considered a major book in the history of photography.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Daniel Buren

Born in 1938 in France, Buren is one of the major French artists of the 20th Century. His most famous work is his installation in the Jardin du palais Royal, the “Colonne Buren”.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ugo Rondinone

Born in 1964 in Switzerland, Rondinone lives and works in New York. He works across different mediums - painting, sculptures, photography, video, sound. He also creates powerful declarative sayings, one of which was above the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts: “We are Poems”.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

François Morellet
Born in 1926 in France, François Morellet dedicated his entire life as an artist exploring geometric abstraction. He has used painting, drawing as well as neon and architecture to explore forms.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jean Dubuffet

Born in 1901 in France, Jean Dubuffet is a painter and sculptor. He was a major proponent of what is now called “art brut” - art made by people outside of the art world, artists suffering from mental conditions, or marginalized. He died in 1985.

Camille Henrot

Born in 1978 in France, Camille Henrot lives and works between Berlin and New York. She moves from painting, drawing, film, sculpture and installation. She draws inspiration from media, psychoanalysis, literature, anthropology. In 2013, she won the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale.

From the dynamic Right Bank to the historic Left, Paris vibrates with energy. It has more art than NewYork, more theaters than London, more bookstores than anywhere else on the planet. But the city also has the beautiful secret gardens and cool new restaurants. And every season is Paris’ season.

“I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles; I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,” sings Ella Fitzgerald.

With its renowned museums, new cultural institutions and art galleries, Napoleon III architecture and inventive cuisine, Paris is always having a moment.

The City of Light has been romanticized in books by Ernest Hemingway and Victor Hugo, in cinema like Moulin Rouge and Midnight in Paris, painters like Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro or Georges Seurat, and through photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Brassaï, among many others.

Follow Sonam and her business partner, Jean Sebastian Stehli, as they walk us through Paris quartiers, hop to cool bars and restaurants, and open the doors to their secret, tucked-in spots to enjoy some of the most beautiful books. Exclusively in our story below.

SONAM & JS’S FAVOURITE ART PLACES IN PARIS

SONAM & JS’S FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS AND BARS

SONAM & JS’S FAVOURITE LITERARY HAUNTS