April 23,
2007
French Connection
Cyrille Margarit at Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club...
By Jackie
Beach
While some people can reach out with two
arms and touch all four walls of their $3,000 per month
Manhattan apartment, Cyrille Margarit divides his time living in
three fabulous locations: New York City, southern France, and a
French Caribbean island. The debonair artist showed his artwork
for the first time in New York last week at Bruno Jamais
Restaurant Club on the Upper East Side.
“I have deep feelings for New York,” Margarit said, waving his
arms around the chandelier-lit room. “This is my town. I first
came here when I was 18 years old.” Mentioning that his
grandfather was part of the Normandy resistance and introducing
his mother and sister who accompanied him during his pioneer
showing, it was apparent people and relationships are important
to Margarit.
The subjects of his work support this theory. Adorning the walls
of the swanky restaurant were enlarged photographs Margarit had
taken and then digitally manipulated and printed on sheets of
brushed aluminum – a larger-than-life image of Mike Tyson,
bruised and tense after a fight, an up-close shot of Scarlett
Johansson’s open-mouthed smile, and a series of images of a
woman’s naked back, draped in rose-colored strokes.
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Margarit explained his
inspiration.
“I love the energy and
excitement of New York and its people,” he said. When asked about his
favorite personalities to photograph, one iconic American figure stood
out.
“Madonna possesses amazing energy which was incredible to capture on
film,” he said.
But there is another side to Margarit, a quite different side. A glossy
black-walled back room showcased a series of photographs Margarit took
in the African safari. Capturing stunning images of wild beasts such as
lions, elephants, and cheetahs, Margarit then contrasts the animals’
magnanimity against the thick, blood red strokes of humans’ petty quest
for domination. The animals’ wild spirits clearly defy containment.
“My Gemini side is Africa. In New York, there is the energy and the
people, but also the noise and the pollution. In Africa, I am in love
with nature and wildlife. That is where I go to escape.”
Having traveled through many African countries, Margarit said it is
impossible to run out of inspiration. The African pictures in the show
were taken in Kenya and Tanzania.
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Margarit’s modern work was enhanced by its location. Rather
than shown in what can be a stale, lifeless museum gallery,
the Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club hosted a high-class event
with gourmet hors d’oeuvre and bottles of champagne and wine
flowing all evening. The mood was festive, and guests rubbed
elbows and socialized, happy to be a part of the elite
crowd.
Approximately 200 members of the media, from Harper’s Bazaar and US
Weekly, to PBS Television and the New York Observer,
attended the event.
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Bruno Jamais, a French restaurateur who earned his
chops at chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant, Restaurant Daniel, and then
studied at Alain Ducasse, opened the majestic 4,500 square foot
restaurant and nightclub in a prime location blocks from Central Park
and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“I had a show in St. Barthes and Bruno was there,” said Margarit. “He
said, ‘Your work is wonderful. I want you come to my house.’ And here I
am. Everything is magic here.”
Cyrille Margarit’s artwork will be on display and can be purchased
at Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club nightly through May 14th from 6pm to
3am, Monday through Saturday and Sunday evenings from 6pm to 2am.
Links:
BrunoJamais
Jackie
Beach
And Then What
Happened
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