Creations by Juan & Paloma Garrido
27th March - 14th April 2012
Galerie Alexandre Biaggi
Rue de Seine
Paris, France
www.alexandrebiaggi.com
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PRESS RELEASE
Juan and Paloma Garrido were born in Madrid in 1965 and 1968. The son and daughter of Damian Garrido (1931-2002), the celebrated silversmith known for his sublime table centrepieces, tea services and candlesticks in silver, they spent their childhood in their father's workshop and shared his passion: the same exacting standards, the same pleasure over the beauty of the finished object. But over time they broke away from the purely functional aspect and the classical shapes, to move in a more creative direction. While maintaining an allegiance to traditional silver working techniques, they now design furniture and objects that can be compared to sculptures. Their work is typified by geometrical - often asymmetric - shapes, right angles, chamfered corners and cubist influence. This is exemplified by the lamps and mirrors in silver designed especially for Alexandre Biaggi, as well as the table centrepiece, the candlesticks and the side table that are on show for this occasion.
Their designs have been regularly exhibited at Asprey’s in London, Barry Friedman’s in New York and in Tokyo, Miami, and Marbella. Some pieces are part of permanent collections at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Others have been acquired by amateur collectors, such as the Emir of Qatar, the King of Jordan, Pope Benedict XVI, Ralph Lauren and Elton John. Juan and Paloma Garrido have also worked with Maison Christofle, Paris.
Alexandre Biaggi has been following the work of Juan and Paloma Garrido for some years. "I was first introduced to their work at the Pavillon des Arts et du Design in Paris, and was immediately won over by their way of thinking. I liked the way they approached modernity while maintaining a 1930's influence. I am constantly looking out for bridges between the great history of 20th century Decorative Arts and current creative trends. The designers who I work with regularly, such as Patrick Naggar, Patrice Dangel and Simone Crestani, all belong to the same family. The traditional skills they all possess support a creativity that is in phase with our time. For Juan and Paloma Garrido, the fact that they work with silver is an added bonus. I have always preferred noble materials. I am really not keen on plastic! Silver gives their work a reflective quality that I find fascinating: it gives it a mysterious, poetic and highly contemporary edge." Alexandre Biaggi has been exhibiting some of the greatest names in 20th century Decorative Arts since 1996 at his gallery in rue de Seine, Paris: Let’s quote Jean-Michel Frank, André Arbus, Jacques Adnet, Serge Roche, Jean Royère, Gio Ponti. But he has added an increasing number of contemporary designers to his collection. That acts as a link between his work as an antiques dealer-interior designer and his publishing activity, which is no less fascinating. It is also a way of showing that the great Decorative Arts tradition is still present nowadays.