What’s New on the Art Scene

Women in the Field

For this week’s edition, we will look at recent additions to the art world made by women.

Annabelle Selldorf is a german-born architect based in New York city since her graduation from Pratt University. She’s the founder of Selldorf Architects, a celebrated practice that has had a tremendous impact on the design scene from the build of the Neue Galerie to the design of the Miami Rubell Museum. 

More recently, she has been assigned with the grand remodelling of the famed Frick Collection in New York, set to reopen in April 2025. Being the first renovation of this magnitude in about 90 years, Selldorf decided to celebrate the history and heritage of this museum while working on catering for the visitor experience, adding new spaces to explore as well as improving circulation.

Some of the strategies she has put to use to reach her goals are, for example, the use of the Indiana stone, first employed in 1914 by Thomas Hastings for the original construction of the Beaux-Arts style building as well as the respect of historical stone layouts. She declares for the January/February 2025 edition of Architectural Digest France: “the proportions are basic, but the details are sharp and modernist” in the article titled “L’Art de Rénover” (the art of renovating).

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Chloé Nègre - a Conscious and Material-Focused Practice

A graduate from the Camondo university of product and interior design in Paris, Chloé Nègre opened her now renowned practice, Studio Chloé Nègre, in 2015 which focuses on interior architecture, furniture design as well as scenography.

In 2024, Francois Xavier and herself announced the creation of Laclaux, an edition house focused on luxury furniture. A recurrent feature of famous architecture reviews, she is also celebrated for her respect of the environment and innovative use of materials.

She declares in a recent Architectural Digest interview (Janvier/Février 2025 issue) that herself and her studio have chosen to only use wood sourced from sustainable forestry in their designs. They have also banned the use of lacquers which are extremely harmful to the environment when ending up in landfills as well as during the production stage. Lastly, the studio’s decision of taking on the reparation of all of their furniture pieces to ensure their longevity is a fabulous example of accountability and engagement that many studios should learn from and be inspired by. 

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Amours Solitaires, Morgane Ortin, 2020

‘Everything around you becomes you a little, the wallpaper is your dress, the trees your hair.

The staircase railing your hip, the pillow your breath.’

Amours Solitaires (Xavier Riem, 2020) is a mini series inspired by Morgane Ortin’s book Amours Solitaires, founder of the instagram account @amours_solitaires, offering a glimpse into anonymous relationships of multiple kinds, from love declarations to heartbreaking revelations. She also acts in it. Two seasons have been released for now, both following tumultuous love stories and interests between young people, with the particularity of including text messages readable by the viewers, giving an insight on intimacy of evolving relationships, giving a new dimension and perspective of the 21st generational dating scene. One thing I would comment on is its stereotypical character building following a normative scheme. 

It can be watched for free on ARTE and if you want to send your own love declarations, you can send yours on www.amours-solitaires.love.

The films of Alice Rohrwacher

Alice Rohrwacher is an Italian director who released La Chimera in 2024, which was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or. The soothing visuals transports its audience through this atypical scenario and, as Arthur, we cannot stress but follow the “fil d'Ariane” (breadcrumbs). She also directed the multiple awards winning Happy As Lazzaro (2018). The images of her films are characterised by a particularly beautiful aesthetic and grain. Far from the turmoil of metropoles, they both take place in the soothing and calm setting of the Italian countryside. Rohrwacher explores human relationships, with a touch of fantasy. The main characters are presented as innocent, surrounded by corrupted protagonists.