rose petals," 1977. All images courtesy of Saint Laurent and the Estate of Rose Finn-Kelcey.
Over the past year, Saint Laurent has launched a film production company, opened its largest-ever flagship store on Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and inaugurated a fine jewelry line. But don’t expect the brand to rest on its laurels in 2024. Its quest for cultural domination continues this month with the opening of a new bookstore, record shop, and art hub in the heart of the 7th arrondissement in Paris.
Saint Laurent Babylone boasts out-of-print books, vinyl records, and a selection of Leica cameras, all handpicked by Saint Laurent Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello. Rare books are displayed like sculptures atop a vintage Pierre Jeanneret desk. The store will also host rotating art exhibitions, beginning with a special presentation of the work of British artist Rose Finn-Kelcey.
A cult figure in the British art world, Finn-Kelcey made a name for herself as a feminist performance artist in the 1970s, but her eclectic, wide-ranging body of work encompasses installation, photography, sculpture, video, and papercuttings. The Paris presentation includes Here is a Gale Warning, 1971, a photograph of a flag the artist erected above Alexandra Palace in London emblazoned with the eponymous text. (The same flag is currently flying atop Tate Britain in London; it is part of a larger series of flags that Rose-Kelcey installed atop European landmarks.) Also on view are photographs from her series “Restored to her natural state by nibbling rose petals,” 1977, which were Kate MacGarry gallery presented at Frieze Masters in London last year.
rose petals," 1977.
The bookstore’s interior—with its raw stone, smooth marble, and Donald Judd seating—echoes that of Saint Laurent’s flagship location on the Champs-Elysées, which opened in December 2023. The store-meets-treasure trove represents a homecoming of sorts of the brand, whose founder, Yves Saint Laurent, occupied an apartment on Rue de Babylone in the 1970s. It was there that he lived with Pierre Bergé among his own eclectic and artistic treasures, including works by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet, Roman sculptures, and sumptuous tapestries.
"Rose Finn-Kelcey" is on view through February 29, 2024 at Saint Laurent Babylone in Paris.
