The Kraemer Gallery, the oldest family-owned antiques business in Paris, is marking its 140th anniversary with the first public exhibition in its 19th-century mansion on the rue Monceau (20-31 October, during the Fiac contemporary art fair).
It will match 18th-century, museum-quality furniture by André-Charles Boulle, Charles Cressent and Jean-Henri Riesener with contemporary works by Anish Kapoor, Daniel Buren and Lee Ufan.
The show marks the introduction of new ideas to keep up with the times, says Laurent Kraemer, a gallery director.
The contemporary art will come from Galerie Kamel Mennour—a first collaboration between these stalwarts of the city’s right and left banks. Mixing classical and contemporary works is a noticeable trend—though sometimes an explosive one, as proved by the recent row over Kapoor’s summer show at the Chateau de Versailles.
Fittingly, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the former French culture minister who introduced contemporary art to Versailles, is organising the Kraemer show.