Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/48690
C K For Clémence Krzentowski, who with her husband Didier runs the esteemed Galerie Kreo in Paris, design was a sort of destiny. Her interest in the field started with a thoroughly modern, self-imposed dictum: "I was always interested in living in my time," she says. "Not in my parents' or my grandparents' environment. I wanted something of my own. And it was the beginning of the love I have for design." The couple started to acquire works by the likes of Martin Szekely and Joe Colombo after they married in the 1980s (a wide swath of the resulting collection was on view in 2009 at the Galerie des Galeries at the Galeries Lafayette). Not long thereafter, a professional opportunity presented itself. Krzentowski, whose academic background is in economics, was working on the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, and asked Philippe Starck to design its iconic torch. Starck's sleek, horn-like interpretation was a hit. After the games wrapped—and feeling they were on to something—she and Didier struck out on their own with the intent of forging such designer-corporate partnerships on a much larger scale. By 1999, with demand growing for fresh and innovative design, Galerie Kreo was born and the Krzentowskis started to produce artist-designed furniture and objects themselves. In just 12 years Kreo has become a veritable powerhouse, boasting exclusive rep- resentation of Marc Newson, Pierre Charpin, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison and several others, and Kreo editions from the likes of many more. At Design Miami/, she and Didier will exhibition new lacqured tables by German designer Konstantin Grcic in addition to new glass works by Szekely. Success aside, Krzentowski still looks for a certain sensitivity, a certain purity in intent that exists largely outside of the market when assessing young designers and new work, "I am always interested in people who are trying to experiment with the more per- sonal sides of their creation," she says. "It's something that really matters to me—that they're not making something for someone else, but creating something for themselves." 82 CULTURED l é m e n c e R Z E N T O W S K I PHOTO BY JEAN BER COURTESY GALERIE KREO