THERE IS A PAINTING in the new modern French restaurant élan that drew my gaze as I stepped into its plush, earthy-toned interior. It’s a decidedly postmodern reinterpretation of Otto Dix’s 1926 masterpiece Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden. Dix’s original so expertly caught that distant, cold gaze which defined post-war Weimar art. But this one, a creation by an artist friend of Director Philippe Pau, replaced Frau von Harden’s angular face with that of Star Trek’s Spock, paired it with an actual photograph of her, and threw in a dash of delightfully grotesque abstract elements between “Spock von Harden” and the photographed version of the German journalist.
It is a tongue-in-cheek invitation to be yourself, to not take yourself too seriously, to lighten the manner in which you speak to yourself. The painting was irreverent, surreal and, as a piece of décor in a fi ne dining restaurant, an indicator that it is okay to let your hair down and laugh. You should be comfortable around this work of fi ne art, as you should be comfortable with partaking in élan’s fi ne cuisine.
This painting is emblematic of élan’s appeal. “Diners today are looking for experiences that are less formal and a lot more fun,” Pau notes.
The 48-seater restaurant is located in Shaw Centre, in a nook removed from the bustle of the main avenues of Scotts and Orchard Roads.
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