French Designer Laura Gonzalez Unveils NYC Exhibit

MILAN — For Parisian designer Laura Gonzalez, the U.S. is the place to be. On Thursday, she will unfurl a new collection of lighting and furniture in the gallery she opened in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood in 2023. The new collection will be positioned within “Landscapes,” an exhibit that features the work of Fabien Conti, an emerging French artist known for his colorful renderings of nature. The evening will be accompanied by a culinary experience and sensorial extension of the exhibit by visual artist Laila Gohar.

“‘Landscapes’ is really a journey through materials and emotions — a dialogue between continents, crafts and memories,” Gonzalez told WWD. Within the showcase, she will present sculptural lamps in Murano glass, a carved and hand-lacquered console, a bronze coffee table and a hand-painted resin dining table with organic solid wood feet. Each object, she said, has been conceived as a fragment of a landscape — a horizon, a movement, a mineral vibration. Gonzalez met Conti in his studio in Vitry, a suburb near Paris, when she had already begun designing the “Landscapes” collection. “My studio lives through collaboration. I am always looking for voices that bring new textures, new ideas and new narratives to their work,” she said.

The U.S. is Gonzalez’ top foreign market and continues to expand. Earlier this year she revealed her first major residential development in the U.S. with the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami. Other recent projects include Printemps’ first location in New York, Paris’ Saint James Hotel, and Cartier stores around the world.

Gonzalez’ new gallery on Franklin Street responds to the growing appetite in the U.S. for both bespoke and fine crafted collectible goods. Clients include private collectors who are looking for custom work for extraordinary homes. Other clients include luxury hospitality groups who seek strong, narrative-driven design pieces, she explained.

“The response has been incredibly encouraging,” she mused. “New York has welcomed us with an energy that is both challenging and exhilarating. The gallery has quickly become a place for dialogue between collectors, architects and curious visitors who are discovering our work for the first time.”

For the exhibition, Gohar’s culinary experience includes edible sculptures that invite visitors to inhabit the landscape rather than simply observe it. Egypt-born Gohar is a visual artist, uses food as her medium and has worked with luxury brands like Prada and Hermès, and has made collections for brands like Denmark home brand Hay and Marimekko.

“I am a big fan of her work since the beginning. She plays with ingredients the way I play with materials: sculpting, layering, creating textures and forms that feel both surprising and deeply human,” said Gonzalez.