Bienvenue à Lafayetteville | Galerie des Galeries

Galerie des Galeries

From 1st July to 12th September 2023, as part of their cultural partnership with Le Voyage à Nantes, Galeries Lafayette will be inviting Nantes-based artist Docteur Paper to take part in an original carte blanche in the Decré department stores'.

Around the central escalator, artist and illustrator Docteur Paper presents Bienvenue à Lafayetteville, a monumental installation featuring an urban panorama inspired by the architectural heritage of Nantes' department stores and buildings. Entirely drawn, a gigantic imaginary city unfolds over several levels in the heart of this passageway, where one of the city's first escalators was inaugurated in the early 1950s. Walking through the fresco as they move through the shop, visitors are invited to discover the historical and architectural layers of the Nantes store and, more broadly, of Galeries Lafayette shops in France.

Fascinated by urban landscapes, which he recreates and reinvents freehand with a keen eye for detail, Docteur Paper's Bienvenue à Lafayetteville takes visitors on an original journey to discover the history of Galeries Lafayette and the emblematic monuments of Nantes; a journey through the evolution of department stores in the heart of cities.

Galeries Lafayette Nantes
2-20 rue de la Marne 44000 Nantes
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm*

Bienvenue à Lafayetteville - © Galerie des Galeries

Bienvenue à Lafayetteville

This monumental installation reveals an urban panorama featuring buildings, signs, logos, motifs and architectural details, all drawn by Docteur Paper from the archives of Galeries Lafayette.

By integrating the architecture and key events of the department stores' since its creation in 1894, Docteur Paper offers a drawn history of Galeries Lafayette, a journey through time and space, celebrating the Nantes shop as the historic Parisian brand, with its famous Art Nouveau dome and facades.

Bienvenue à Lafayetteville is read in movement: Docteur Paper takes over the escalators at Galeries Lafayette Nantes to retrace its history: from its creation to the successive extensions of the Paris and Nantes shops; from the development of international brands to the architectural audacity and creative energy characteristic of Galeries Lafayette, whose department stores continue to shape cities.

Docteur Paper

A French artist and illustrator based in Nantes, Docteur Paper has made the city and its architecture his favourite subject for over 10 years, redrawing his city wanderings in dense graphic compositions teeming with detail.

Meticulously executed in ink and freehand, his works offer an original point of view, recreating urban landscapes where history, architecture, space and time merge. Using a particular perspective, Docteur Paper plays with the different planes and dimensions of the buildings, revealing the diversity of urban construction. These recomposed cities showcase the diverse architectures encountered along the way, like so many personal cartographies drawn up by the artist during his travels in France and around the world.

Developed through numerous personal projects such as the Travel with me series, his unique technique and illustration style have also led him to work with brands and companies on original collaborations.

Galeries Lafayette in Nantes

In 1867, Jules Decré opened a shop on the corner of the Basse Grande Rue and the rue du Moulin.

The department stores' recomposed the urban space around it, giving rise to the "Decré Quarter". Built in 1931 by architect Henri Sauvage, it was completed in 97 days and was described as "the most modern shop in Europe".

The building was demolished in 1943, then rebuilt entirely in concrete in 1948 around a central steel structure by architects Charles Friésé, Louis-Marie Charpentier and Victoire Durand-Gasselin.

In 1952, the Nantes shop inaugurated the city's first escalator, allowing visitors to explore the shelves from unprecedented angles. At the same time, the highest escalator network in Europe was installed at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann.

In 1979, the Decré shops were taken over by Nouvelles Galeries, which in turn was bought by Galeries Lafayette in 1991.

Cultural partnership with Voyage à Nantes

Galeries Lafayette joins forces with major cultural events in cities and invites artists and designers into its shops to show visitors the best of contemporary creation.

Every summer, Voyage à Nantes, the organisation responsible for promoting culture in the city and metropolitan area of Nantes, offers an urban itinerary enriched by works of art and public spaces where people can meet and enjoy each other.

As part of their cultural partnership with the Voyage à Nantes, Galeries Lafayette invited Docteur Paper to create an original carte blanche installation in the Decré department stores'. The Welcome to Lafayetteville installation joins the summer programme of the Voyage à Nantes, giving visitors the chance to discover an additional stage in the urban artistic journey, incorporating works in the public space and access to the city's cultural and heritage sites.

Interview with Docteur Paper

**Can you tell us about your collaboration with Galeries Lafayette? What attracted you to this invitation from the department stores'?

**What do you think of Galeries Lafayette in Nantes, whose building is one of the city's most emblematic architectural landmarks? How did this place inspire you? What did you want to say about it?

*Entitled Welcome to Lafayetteville*, your installation brings together the different architectural styles of Galeries Lafayette shops in Paris, France and sometimes abroad. By bringing together all these elements in your fresco, you propose a new experience of space and time. Can you tell us about your artistic approach to this installation?

**Drawing on the Galeries Lafayette archives, what was the most striking detail to illustrate?

Welcome to Lafayetteville is displayed on the department store's escalators and can be read in motion: did you imagine a particular narrative for this installation?

Welcome to Lafayettecity

Galeries Lafayette Chongqing