"Patrizia and I have never really had the soul of collectors. This statement might surprise some. But it’s true…
We’ve simply gone from one passion to the next, through the people we’ve met. Because we love artists. They’ve always fascinated us. We admire their way of interpreting the world, of moving forward as visionaries. Between them and us, it’s a long history. For me, it began in the 1950s when I accompanied my grandfather to one of the most beautiful emotional experiences of my life. An Unsettling Man by Giacometti—I still get chills.
Ever since, I have been drawn to rediscovering that feeling. As soon as I was able, I wanted to support artists, to live with their works. Each piece is a heartfelt passion to which I cannot, do not want to, and will not resist…
It was the Penetrables, which I first saw at Denise René’s. And then Soto’s art, which was bound to move me—because his artistic concerns resonated with my own work—his pieces inspired me countless times!
It was Garouste and Bonetti and their “Barbare” line, Pucci de Rossi, Bill Viola, Dubreuil and his armchair… All discovered from the end of 1984 at the Néotù gallery with Pierre Staudenmayer. These artists and designers captivate me—and all are interested in the world of fashion. Some of them, from 1986 to 1988, became involved with us, then, later, in 2000 and 2001, at the Domaine des Andéols...
Our passion has grown so much that we started sharing it with those around us in the fashion world. Because Patrizia and I have this love for sharing and passing things on. To share our joy, our passion with our friends, our acquaintances, those who work with us.
In the 1990s, we met Yvon Lambert, thanks to whom we sought out artists, visited their studios as a kind of initiation, a long retreat. And from 2001 on, the steadfast friendship of Kamel Mennour, his passion for contemporary art, his incredible dedication to his artists.
Artists, gallerists, all have been with us on this journey. The same love of art drove us. And still does.
Looking back today on the path we’ve traveled and the works we’ve gathered over the years, we feel an immense gratitude, a pure thankfulness. What a journey, what encounters, what passion!
Today, it’s time for these works to live, to vibrate, to resonate on other walls, other display boards, in other parks. Let them travel.
For us, the moment has come to lighten our load, to reclaim that freedom we love above all else, which is our true essence.
Because there will always be, around the next corner, new passions, new encounters to come…”
Patrizia and Olivier Massart
