French odyssey

An ode to travel, Diptyque’s itinerant art show features the work of Athens’ Zoë Paul

- MARY CLEARY

The artist Zoë Paul hadn’t planned to end up in a cave. A few months prior, the French maison Diptyque had approached her to take part in its celebratory 60th anniversary show, which has now opened in Paris, with pop-ups around the world to follow. The exhibition features original works by nine artists. Of these, five have created editioned objects fragranced by Diptyque perfume, with Paul drawing inspiration from Greece, Joël Andrianomearisoa from France, Johan Creten from Italy, Hiroshi Sugimoto from Japan, and Rabih Kayrouz from Lebanon.

These five destinations were chosen because they were places Diptyque’s founders, Christiane Montadre-Gautrot, Yves Coueslant and Desmond Knox-Leet, often travelled to or took inspiration from. When the trio opened Diptyque in Paris in 1961, the store was not a fragrance house but rather a chic curio shop packed with knick-knacks, an ode to the wonders that can be found through travel. Each item was selected for its intriguing design or compelling story, be it a bistro sugar holder or Indian incense sticks. ‘Le Grand Tour’ harks back to that origin story, but with a more elevated collection of artist-designed objects, befitting the brand’s evolution into an iconic luxury house.