Artistic voyage

Classic Left Bank wine lists, Salina, Le Bizetro, Musée d'Orsay, Caulaincourt, Causeries, BarBarina, MORE

WORK • Friday Routine

Art dreams

CHARLES BRUN-THEREMIN • visual artist
Neighborhood you work in: Ecole Militaire & Gracià Barcelona
Neighborhood you live in: Ecole Militaire

It’s Friday afternoon. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Sometimes Friday is time for a light lunch with friends at Le Bizetro just on the other side of the river. Then in the afternoon, it’s time to speak of new projects with friends and collaborators, then go get my four-year-old. Then a walk or a passage by my atelier with my son, to make sure everything is in order, and to see him go through my things. Then I will pass by Ampelos Caviste rue de Bourgogne to visit my friend Herve and grab a bottle of wine.

What’s on the agenda for today?
These days are full-on ceramics; I am working on a series of painted vases/sculptures of Hypnos-inspired birds with a vintage look and some pre-Columbian inspiration. As I make them and progress into the series, I make sketches, and sometimes do digressions by changing the inspiration and making small collages and ink works on paper. I always have a few medium/large-format canvas paintings in progress.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Saturday night we can go for tapas at Salina on rue du Faubourg Montmartre. The chef and owner, Fabien, is a friend, and a master at making your meal a moment of happiness and discovery. Great fish and wines and old friends in the center of Paris just next to the mythical nightclub, Le Palace.

How about a little leisure or culture?
Musée d’Orsay has always been my favorite. As a kid, I was going all the time to Marmottan, which is a fantastic place, and later on I discovered Orsay with my mom, somewhere around 10-years-old I believe. It was a miracle, going up the stairs to discover all the Impressionist and the mythical Van Gogh self-portrait, Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, and some stunning large-scale Toulouse Lautrec. It was a dream, and it is still a fantastic time-traveling machine for me today. And now my son can tell us “Van Gogh Van Gogh!!!” when he recognizes his style from far away.

L’Ecume des Pages bookstore is also a perfect hang around. To get the last Stephane Lambert book about the artist Fabienne Verdier for example. And a passage by Caulaincourt‘s latest shop on rue de Courcelles, where the owner exhibits works of art of his friends in his souliers (shoe) shop.

Any weekend getaways?
I often travel to Barcelona. I go through Gracià and have lunch at La Pubilla or go through the old city and stop for exceptional tapas at La Cova Fumada a few blocks from the beach. A stop by the Miro Fundacion is always a good idea, and a dinner with my lover at Casa Bonay for a delicious moment before a drink at the end of the bar at Libertine is the perfect match. We stay in l’Esquerra de L’Eixample, a perfect spot to walk all over the city.

What was your last great vacation?
Greece. We started in June with a fantastic stay on Hydra, just a 90-minute ferry from next to Athens. We were there for a wedding and the opening of the new exhibition at the Deste Foundation, and it was a fantastic moment thanks to the generosity of famous collector Dakis Joanou and to the beautiful work of Andra Ursuta. A few weeks after, we went through the Dodecanese Islands, and had a lovely time in Patmos. Classic tavernas and a few diners and drinks in Chora or at Benetos by the sea. My wife is Greek and our son was born in Athens, so I’ve come to learn a few secret tricks. We stayed again in a lovely house next to Petra Beach. The old city is beautiful, the people are very nice, and everything is smooth.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A screenprint by my friend Raphael Denis or a paper painted lamp by Jaime Hayon. And I dream of being able to contemplate a piece by Olivia Cognet and Fran Aniorte in my home soon.

What store or service do you always recommend?

• Lastre Sans Apostrophe, 188, rue de Grenelle (7th arr)

• Ampelos Caviste, 31, rue de Bourgogne (7th arr)

• Galerie Lefebre Et Fils, 24, rue du Bac (7th arr)

• Souliers Caulaincourt Paris, 89, rue de Courcelles (17th arr)

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PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Admiring the gorgeous renovated lobby at Fouquet’s Paris by Friedmann & Versace • Just-reopened Max Mara flagship on Avenue Montaigne is “Italian firework’ • Calder’s mobiles come to life at Louis Vuitton Foundation • Paris spots I’m not cool enough for (but still go to anyway) • Five touristy restaurants not worth the hype • The 7 shoes in every Parisian woman’s capsule wardrobe.

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RESTAURANTS • The Nines

Classic wine lists, Left Bank

The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Paid subscribers access the complete Nines archive.

• Bonvivant (5th arr), centrally located bistrot à vins with impeccably curated selection of wines (approx. 80 references), emphasis on Beaujolais, Jura, Loire Valley, plus bonus points for big outdoor terrasse