The genesis

In the early 80s, the design gallery in Paris, En Attendant les Barbares, began publishing two budding designers: Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. They took the name Garouste & Bonetti. Very quickly, their culture and imagination gave them the triple status of designers, decorators and artists. Iconoclasts, Garouste & Bonetti defined a new style, with an eclectic inspiration supported by high-level production. Their first creations determined the foundations of a decorative movement known as the “barbarian style”. One of the characteristics of this style is to call upon craftsmen and to evoke multiple aesthetic and historical references.

The consecration

This non-exhaustive approach allows Garouste & Bonetti to constantly renew their inspiration. The materials used are multiple: wrought iron, wrought iron, bronze, wood, patinated metal, gold leaf, parchment. The poetry of their approach is reflected in the choice of names of the pieces. Moon lamp, Mask lamp, Crown box, Topkapi sofa, Isis table. They claim the influence of French Decorative Arts, from Jean Michel Frank to Jean Royère.

Because Garouste & Bonetti reintroduce the notion of custom-made. They imagine the concept of lines that can be adapted: “Fourches”, “Olympiade”, “Feuilles”. Each design can be adapted to different types of furniture. For example, a console table can be transformed into a coffee table, a pedestal table, a dining room table, etc. The finishes, iron or bronze patina, choice of wood or gold leaf, are also chosen during each creation.

The separation

In the early 2000s, Garouste & Bonetti separated, leaving En Attendant les Barbares to continue publishing their creations. Their catalog is impressive. Some works have been exhibited in museums. Let us mention the Centre Pompidou, Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD), Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Grand Hornu (Brussels), Fondation Cartier, Guggenheim Museum (New York).

Today, their popularity among collectors makes them sought-after classics. Some results reach heights, such as a wrought iron archair, sold at Sotheby’s for 445,000 euros.
Among the craftsmen, it is worth mentioning Pierre Basse, former ironworker of Diego Giacometti, who works exclusively for the gallery. Pierre Basse has developed an unrivaled know-how, with a specific work of hand-wrought iron. In 1985, he contributed to the development of decorative elements by Diego Giacometti for the Picasso Museum.

Pierre Basse also carries out appraisals of Diego Giacometti pieces for prestigious auction houses, such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Always halfway between art, design, and decorative art, the gallery calls upon the bronzier Bocquel, who is the founder of Gérard Garouste, César, and Arman.

The rest of the story

After the separation of Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti, our design gallery in Paris continues to publish them, each separately. First Elizabeth Garouste, to whom it dedicated two solo exhibitions. Then Mattia Bonetti, who developed a brilliant international career. Eric Schmitt is also one of the first designers. He is loyal to the gallery which had dedicated a first solo exhibition to him in 1990. During the tribute exhibition “Diego Giacometti Forever”, he approaches the field of sculpture. He is also very present in the exhibition “Fantasmagories”, in 2022.

Pierre Basse,
ironworker of Diego Giacometti

At 14, Pierre Basse began working with Diego Giacometti, who would become both his mentor and his friend. Over time, a very strong bond unites these two discreet personalities, a mixture of Pierre Basse’s admiration for his eldest, and Diego Giacometti’s total confidence in his younger brother.

Chairs, tables, consoles, chandeliers are born, in a joyful mix of furniture-sculptures that add fantasy to neo-classical forms.

Their last collaboration will be the opening of the Picasso Museum, for which Diego Giacometti imagines the furniture and the lighting.

Then Diego dies, leaving Pierre Basse a little orphan.

Diego Giacometti and Garouste & Bonetti,
a relationship established by an exceptional craftsman.

In 1985, after the disappearance of Diego Giacometti, a meeting will be decisive: that of Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti.

Almost forty years later, Pierre Basse is still the gallery’s exclusive ironworker. He makes all the wrought iron pieces by hand, in the great tradition of French Decorative Arts.

In addition to his activity as a craftsman, Pierre Basse is involved in appraisals of works by Diego Giacometti with prestigious auction houses, such as Sothebys and Christies.