The Villa Albertine in New York, a showcase for French savoir-faire
Friday 8 September —
17:00
- 17:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
Based in New York in the Payne Whitney Mansion, an early 20th-century architectural jewel, the Villa Albertine is refreshing the concept of an artistic residence, to serve French art and culture, all across the United States. The big office located on the top floor has just been redesigned by architect and interior designer Hugo Toro. And what was his objective? To express all the abundance and excellence of French savoir-faire in décor and fine craft, through a total project that included the space and its furniture, in the venerable tradition of the great French decorators.
Nos partenaires : Material Bank
Participants
Hervé LemoineDirector Mobilier National
Gaëtan BruelDirector - Villa Albertine
Hugo ToroHMOMP Architect & Interior Designer
Danièle GerkensJournalist
Hervé Lemoine
Director Mobilier National
Gaëtan Bruel
Director - Villa Albertine
Gaëtan Bruel is the Director of the Villa Albertine and is Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of France in the United States. A former student at ENS, he has been Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of France in the United States since September 2019. In January 2020, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs entrusted him with the mission of designing and opening France’s fourth Villa overseas, the Villa Albertine. Opened in Autumn 2021, the Villa Albertine has already hosted 180 residents in 50 cities and territories throughout the United States, offering grants to support artistic production and hosting career acceleration programs for creative industries. Having started his career as a Teaching Fellow at Columbia University, he then worked for three Ministries (Defense, Culture, and Foreign Affairs), first as a speechwriter, then specializing in cultural affairs. He created, among other things, the cinematic mission for the Ministry of the Armed Forces and took on the role of administrator for the Arc de Triomphe and the Panthéon within the Center for National Monuments. Before he took on his position in New York, he was Counsellor for the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in charge of the Americas and for cultural diplomacy.
Hugo Toro
HMOMP Architect & Interior Designer
Heading up his own firm since 2020, Hugo Toro has a clear and powerful aesthetic vision: mixing interior design, design, and artistic creation to create total works of art. He is responsible for the design of the workshop at the Villa Albertine, as well as that of the first Orient Express Hotel in Rome. These are projects that seem obvious for someone who has made travel his main source of inspiration. With his French and Mexican roots, Hugo Toro personally embodies settings that involve exoticism and memory. From narrative architecture to the spatialization of exoticism, and work with materials and colors, his style is made up of many elements.
Danièle Gerkens
Journalist
Editor-in-chief of ELLE Décoration, ELLE à table and Art & Décoration, Danièle Gerkens has a degree in Economics and in the History of Art and Religions. Born and raised in Africa, she has worked as a journalist for ELLE magazine after various experiences: copywriter at Publicis, consultant at UNESCO, cook at l'Arpège with Alain Passard... She is also the author of several books including "Zero Sugar", an investigation published by Les Arènes.