Daily Dose 1839

Amor Immeuble

Daily Dose Monographic Images 1839 | Amor Immeuble - Pièces Déposées "Barely visible, buried beneath the trinkets, the fireplace is a recurring subject in the series of interiors captured by Eugène Atget at the turn of the 20th century. The mantelpiece is the magnified embodiment of the comfort made possible by the mechanical flues of the Haussmann building, and the necessary delimitation of the hearth, the fireplace: the intimacy of the apartment. While heating systems have evolved to render fireplaces obsolete, they often remain the guarantors of the Haussmann style—and therefore of the property’s market value. Still in keeping with this market, it’s not uncommon for fireplaces and their flues to be removed to “reclaim” a few square meters of floor space. These frequent transformations feed a flourishing second-hand market, reflecting the recurrence of models and dimensions of these ready-to-install elements. What is the value of this ornamented interface, ultimately stripped of all function when the ducts are condemned? What place should be given to the many pieces that have been deposited? The generic nature of the fragments collected enables us to turn them into three-dimensional assemblies that temporarily occupy the domestic space of the gallery: the rock, reduced to an ornamental motif, is used here for its structural capacity, and the contoured form becomes a framework component, abstracted from its original orientation and symbolism." Thanks to Louis Malachane. Amor Immeuble - Pièces Déposées, at DNL Gallery, 43 rue Saint Georges, 75009 Paris.