Thema Art Fair unfolds in the historic Hotel de Guise, a stunning Parisian venue on Rue de l’Université that has remained untouched since the 1950s. The cracks in the building are deep and the worn charm of another era oozes out of every pore. Showcasing a curated mix of vintage and modern works, emphasizing sustai nability and creative dialogue, the fair blends heritage with contemporary Art and Design. As the founder Michaël Hadida puts it, Thema aims to foster a vibrant community around art, exchange, and sociability. It breaks with traditional fair conventions embracing the run down beauty of the building, offering a refreshing palate cleanser of the monochrome institutions of Paris’s international Art Week. As you walk up the stone staircase following the ancient elevator, two iron poles running the three floors with you will find the cigar room on the first floor contingent to the main halls from which Design Week Miami is seen through the windows, it is where Bref have installed their room centered around a mix of French and Brazilian Art and Design. Through the library and back up the elegant stone staircase to the left is Roberta Molteni’s room showcasing her design and a few selected artist’s work.
TREE PROSTHETICS
Tree Prosthetics are a recurring theme in Juliette’s work, symbolizing the absurdity of human attempts to repair nature. In this series, fallen branches, retrieved by her dog Oslo, are cured, sanded, and transformed into animated extensions. Planted in ceramic feet sealed with beeswax using an ancient Roman technique, these branches become dynamic sculptures resembling wizard’s staves or playful animals with wagging tails.
The black ceramic bases reflect the faceted, rugged mountainous lands cape of Château d’Oex, where Juliette crafted the series. Coated in beeswax sourced from Saanen, the ceramics acquire a natural glaze with an inviting texture and the nostalgic aroma of aged, polished wood. Invited by Patricia Monteiro Leclerc, founder of Bref Art and Design and Caterina Licitra, the room presents a dialogue between French and Brazilian dialogue, a window into Juliette’s future collaboration with the duo in 2025 for the cultural Franco Brazilian exchange season of 2025.
LA FLEUR AU FUSIL
A Tree Prosthetic falters at its foot and Juliette starts sculpting to be sure all will be ok for the show. She ends up exploring her hand, elevating her fingers to create a shape that runs away like Adam’s Family Thing, a friendly creature. As she takes in the fair and walks up the stairs into the kitchen, she is met with Roberta Molteni’s room. Her lamps, a fantastic blend of vintage Opaline beautiful acid colours floating on top of a brass base, are sitting on a red lacquered table of her making.
A huge black velour palm by Cinza Ruggieri converses with paintings inside a cupboard by Clementine Bruno. As she turns back, her gaze is met in the first room by Camilla Adami’s drawing of a hand. The simile is uncanny, Juliette shows Roberta the sculpture, Roberta asks her when she can have it in the show, it has just come out of the Kiln in Ivry.
The artist explores the city to find fallen branches in link with her new works, she is surprised, although there was a storm in the night, to find nothing on the Parisian streets. As she wonders what object will come and converse with the clay piece, she happens upon these three fake flowers on the ground, lost in the city, here it is, the expected greenery. The next day there it is, beside the drawing in the kitchen, planted with fake green flowers, splattered with wax.
Named after an expression of WW1 referring to the young soldier’s hopeful and prideful feeling of engagement whilst walking to their almost certain demise.
