Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown’s home, located outside Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, features sun-dappled terraces and lush gardens. The house was originally renovated by local architect Bruno Lafourcade, and his son, Alexandre, further updated it to suit the family of five, while Guinness oversaw the furnishings.
Photo: Tim BeddowHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
How Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
How Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
“This necklace reminds me of my long friendship and working relationship with Claude Lalanne, as well as all of the great jewelry we have sold through my gallery,” says Louisa Guinness, who hosted Lalanne’s first-ever solo jewelry show in London, in 2016. Lalanne’s imaginative pieces are renowned for incorporating actual flora into the design process.
Photo: Courtesy Louisa Guinness GalleryHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
How Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
Surmounting a writing desk in the guest room is a small grid by Alighiero Boetti, a leading figure in the Arte Povera movement. “It’s a perfect gem of a Boetti, who was one of the greatest postwar Italian artists,” says Brown. Although Boetti utilized a variety of mediums, he became famous for his mosaiclike embroideries crafted by Afghan weavers. Many of those multicolored works, like the one shown, consist of individual letters that the viewer must decipher and arrange into words.
Photo: Tim BeddowHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
Brown commissioned one of his gallery artists, Ena Swansea, who has a studio in nearby Arles, to paint a mural around the fireplace in the dining room, where vintage chairs by Børge Mogensen surround a dining table by Guillerme et Chambron, who also designed the 1970s chairs and table next to the fireplace.
Photo: Tim BeddowHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
In addition to the commissioned dining room mural and the painting of a snowy scene in a living area by artist Ena Swansea, who is on Brown’s gallery roster, the couple owns this 2019 piece, entitled Child in the Ocean. “It’s colorful, lyrical, exquisite Ena Swansea at her best,” says Brown.
Photo: Courtesy Ben Brown Fine Arts, LondonHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
In the living room, which retains its original fireplace, Guinness grouped a cream-colored Liaigre sofa with a bluish gray sofa, armchairs, and an ottoman by Gervasoni; the sculpture in the corner is by Gavin Turk, the painting is by Miquel Barceló, and the table lamps are by Vaughan.
Photo: Tim BeddowHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
The couple also has a radiant mixed-media canvas by Spanish artist Miquel Barceló, whose oeuvre includes works on paper, ceramics, and sculptures. “This piece exemplifies Barceló’s Majorcan origins and use of color while depending on the simple forms of his subject matter,” says Brown. “Plus, it’s ideal for a warm climate!”
Photo: Courtesy Ben Brown Fine Arts, LondonHow Gallerists Louisa Guinness and Ben Brown Live With Their Art
“Given that I cannot own the original masterpiece by Ed Ruscha, I must be content with Vik Muniz’s amusing remake,” says Brown of this 2008 digital chromogenic print by the Brazilian artist. “It’s pure California.” Earlier this year Brown also displayed a selection of Muniz’s most iconic works at his gallery’s Hong Kong outpost in an exhibition called “Grand Tour.”
Photo: Courtesy Ben Brown Fine Arts, London1 / 10