Discovering Guy Bareff in Saint Raphäel
15.09.17

While director Neil Hugh Kenna was in Europe over summer, he made a detour to Saint Raphäel on the French Riviera and Hôtel Les Roches Rouges. Attracted by its 1950s modernist origins and a recent reimagining by Parisian architecture firm Festen, he was not disappointed. Perched at the edge of the Mediterranean, endless blue from both sea and sky melts into polished concrete, aged oak and terracotta, hallmarks of the south of France and the modernist movement. With so many refined details, much custom-made for the project, Neil was particularly taken by the ceramic light fixtures (pictured) and “illuminated objects” by Guy Bareff. Founding his practice in the 1970s as ceramics enjoyed a renaissance, Bareff was influenced by the school of Vallauris where Picasso lived and worked. Bareff’s work is characterised by the absence of glazing, allowing the full effect of the piece to be expressed through a single material in stunning simplicity. Having only recently returned to sculpture, Bareff is represented by Maison Gerard, New York and is now firmly on our wish list. Photography courtesy of Design Hotels.