Jan Et Joël Martel, Sculpteurs Art Déco, Et Rob Mallet-Stevens, Architecte

Exhibition at the Villa Cavrois, Croix, and at La Piscine, Roubaix (for the Monument à Debussy), 13 February - 26 May 2024

Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886-1945) and the brothers Jan and Joël Martel (1896-1966) collaborated on many projects: the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925, the UAM pavilion in 1929, the construction of their studio on rue Mallet-Stevens in Paris, the casino in Saint-Jean-de-Luz...

The high point of their collaboration was the Villa Cavrois near Lille, inaugurated in 1932, a veritable "total work of art" conceived as a home on the cutting edge of modernity. The sculptures by the Martel brothers, including the Weasel, the Sitting Cat and Saint Christopher the Protector, are all emblematic creations that fit in perfectly with Mallet-Stevens's architectural masterpiece.

Originally planned for Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Monument à Debussy was finally installed in Paris, near the sculptors' studio, built to the architect's plans. From the first ideas to its final appearance in 1932, the monument evolved from a complex, highly Symbolist construction into a manifest expression of Art Deco classicism.

Abundantly illustrated, this catalogue of the two exhibitions analyses the fruitful relationship between architecture and sculpture through the work of some of the most representative artists of the Art Deco period, and the friendship between these creators.