A multi-layered and multi-functional art object, a display like you’ve never seen before

In the hands of the greatest

“I have loved screens since I was 18 years old. […] I thought I would pass out from happiness when I first entered a Chinese merchant and saw Coromandel,” Gabrielle Chanel confided. “So-called ‘Coromandel’ lacquer pieces date from 17th century China.^e century. In her apartment on rue Cambon, Coco Chanel, who loved these lacquered screens, plastered them on the walls like slabs,” explains Anne Fort, curator of the Cernuschi Museum of Asian Art in Paris. It is also said that the fashion designer, who had eight of them in his house, used them to hide the doors and to hold the guests when he had dinner… Was he inspired by this other genius with an undoubted talent as a decorator, Victor? Hugo?

The writer designed for his mistress, Juliet Drouet, in his exile home in Guernsey, a Chinese living room with painted paneled walls that served as a setting for his porcelain. “One thing is certain, Chinoiserie was very fashionable in the 19th century.^e century, as described by Émile Zola For women’s happiness, notes Anne Fort. Invented in China, the screen appeared with the Han Dynasty in the 3rd century^e century BC It consisted of one piece to stand upright with the legs. Very heavy, it was used outdoors to protect from the wind during lavish court ceremonies. First of all, it was a prestigious decorative ornament for the nobles. Over the centuries, it evolved into a piece of furniture with several panels connected by wires and then hinges. From VIII^e century, it is used internally to divide space, in China and then in Japan.

“The internal architecture of the chambers is very open, only the columns are supporting, then the screens will act as walls that protect from the columns, to freely divide, to create an office, to retain heat, to provide an intimate space. space They have become less heavy, so we can finally move them more easily,” continues the curator of the Cernushi Museum. Now, while interiors are divided less and less to optimize square meters and light, the screen is finding its original utility more than ever. Laurence Mauderly, a design historian and teacher at the Esadse School of Art and Design in Saint-Étienne, notes: “This piece of furniture, which has survived for centuries without changing its typology, still works on the original registers of its creation. It allows you to modulate the space without transforming it. It is an interesting tool for those who are looking for practical solutions at a lower price, for example, to create a corner for working in the living room or to hide the bed in the studio. Ingenious, it can pop in and out like a fan, its accordion shape makes it easy to hold.”

The screen as support for art

A great screen connoisseur who likes to move around in his development projects, designer Pierre Gonalon presented at the Hôtel de Sully during Paris Design Week 2021, a unique model for which artist Loic Bourzotta interpreted the four seasons; young faces painted. on an oak structure painted baby pink. “I love the role of the screen as a support for artistic expression, the only one comparable to the surface of a painting. It gives a unique artistic touch to the interior, where there are not necessarily pictures hanging on the walls, enthuses Pierre Gonalon. For me, it’s really its strong presence that makes it so interesting, and I think it’s more original to lean it against the wall, it creates a very interesting volume.”

British artist Joe Henry Baker went further with an abstract three-panel screen painting currently on view at the Invisible Collection gallery in Mayrault, Paris. This spirit is also present in the Pinto, with the Berlino screen, which consists of six panels of woodwork painted like a white canvas, which hang on the wall.

I love the role of the screen as a support for artistic expression, the only one comparable to the surface of the painting.

Loic Burzota

Among the figures contributing to this glorious return to the screen is Lizon de Cone, master of the art of straw marquetry. He who knew how to brilliantly revive this historical know-how sees his orders rising for luxury homes. So he just designed a screen inspired by his Bambou piece, a tribute to Chinese decorative arts, for the Tiffany boutique in South Africa. At the request of the greatest interior designers, he also created Mirage with a wave motif at the request of Cristina Celestino, which can be admired at Caffè Concerto Cucchi in Milan. For Le Taillevent restaurant in Paris, completely redesigned by Yann Montfort in 2021, he developed impressive curved panels to create islands of intimacy.

“I love creating screens,” he says, “it’s a very rich field of expression. We don’t use it enough. I advise you, for example, to place it in the corners of the room to break up the corner; it looks beautiful.” The spirit of Charlotte Perriand’s screen is the round, simply called the Ambassador, because it was designed in 1966 for the Japanese ambassador to France. It has been published since 2021 by Cassina in its I Maestri collection. It requires 313 hand-hewn solid wood blocks assembled and joined together with metal tie rods.

A fundamental element of interior architecture

If the purely decorative side of the screen does not seem to be used in our interior, then its use is confirmed in the long run, and many brands now offer them. With the rise of remote work, it has become the simplest and fastest solution to redistribute surfaces without going through the workbox. The selection on the Made in Design website is eclectic, from the expensive Feng screen, in blue fabric, from Wiener GTV Design to the more sober Clostra, Ethimo, designed as an opening in natural wood and made from a single panel. that we pose to create a visual cocoon. For his part, American designer Brad Ascalon envisioned the Gemstone screen for French furniture maker Cinna, a beautiful organically shaped object in natural cane that subtly lets you see what’s going on behind. The same natural spirit at De Padova with the Ava model by David López Quincoques, which combines Vienna straw and solid wood and which plays on both Scandinavian and Brazilian codes.

The desire to divide open rooms is not new and, again, it comes to us from Asia. “From 9 in Japan^e century, we see the emergence fusuma. These are sliding partitions mounted on rails, with opaque walls, covered with layers of paper supporting the painted decoration. They will become the preferred support of interior decors, showing nature scenes, illustrating the seasons, emphasizes curator Anne Fort. THE: fusuma act as walls, but they can be easily removed, and then the rails are hidden under the tatami mats.” This invention, with its amazing modernity, has not lost its charm, on the contrary, sliding partitions are fully part of the Japanese minimalist style, which is sought in some Western interiors.

When we talk about the avant-garde of the screen, a female design legend stands out. “If I had to name just one, it would be Eileen Gray,” says Julie Bloom of the Anne-Sophie Duval Gallery in Paris. . In 1904, while an art student, she intended to become a painter and discovered oriental lacquer with a Japanese master who would teach her. The screen becomes a phenomenal artistic support for him. In 1914, his decorative panels caught the eye of fashion designer Jacques Doucet, who commissioned him.’ At Villa E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, her first architectural achievement, “Eileen Gray will reinvent the screen,” adds Marie-Ange Breyer, curator of design collections at the Center Pompidou in Paris. It becomes an organic partition with its “thorn”, a kind of screen wall that hides the entrance to the rooms.

I like to create screens, he says, it is an extremely rich field of expression. We don’t use it enough

Charlotte Perriand, architect

The dressing table also serves as a screen to create privacy in the open space. It is no longer the decorative object it once was, but becomes an integral element of the interior structure, like its white lacquered brick screens that play with mirrors and light. A multifunctional approach is taken by Ligne Roset with its Softwall, developed by Busetti Garuti Redaelli. The screen transforms into a versatile soundproof workstation by integrating a desk and shelves that can serve as a library. The famous “wall against the wind” still has a lot to hide.