Giancarlo Valle Plots a Sumptuous Lounge Around a Salman Toor Painting

A whimsical canvas prompts the designer to imagine a room anchored in both past and present

Giancarlo Valle Artful Home

There’s a quality that is playful yet studious, historic yet fresh, about the interiors of Giancarlo Valle. A respect for those kinds of tensions is why he gravitates to the work of Salman Toor, a master at achieving the same delicate balance in his evocative, glowing green canvases.

Plotting a sumptuous lounge around one such painting, Valle carefully layers pieces from a fascinating timeline of eras, juxtaposing vintage designs with examples by contemporary artisans, including those stocked by his own Tribeca, New York, gallery, and finding important connections along the way.

“Building a body of work today cannot simply be about bouncing from reference to reference as algorithms encourage us to do,” he says. “Instead, it must build on itself and do so slowly over time.”

Giancarlo Valle portrait.
Giancarlo Valle. Photo: CLEMENT PASCAL

“Salman Toor’s works have incredible energy and depth but also possess an ease that is reminiscent of an Old Masters painting”

Giancarlo Valle

Art Room (2020) by SALMAN TOOR.
Art Room (2020) by Salman Toor. Photo: FARZAD OWRANG, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND LUHRING AUGUSTINE, NEW YORK

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Giancarlo Valle Plots a Sumptuous Lounge Around a Salman Toor Painting

Art Room, (2020) by Salman Toor.

Photograph by FARZAD OWRANG, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND LUHRING AUGUSTINE, NEW YORK

Limited edition Bocca sofa by Gufram.

Photograph by COURTESY OF GUFRAM

Vintage Simpukka table lamp by Paavo Tynell.

Photograph by COURTESY OF JACKSONS DESIGN

Louisa bedside carafe and glass set by Porta.

Photograph by COURTESY OF PORTA NYC

Occasional table by Otto Schulz.

Photograph by COURTESY OF GIANCARLO VALLE

Vintage Swedish rug, similar available at Märta Måås-Fjetterström.

Photograph by COURTESY OF JACKSONS DESIGN

Alpha club chair by Pierre Paulin.

Photograph by ADRIEN DIRAND

Untitled 159 by Roger Herman.

Photograph by BENJAMIN BACCARANI, COURTESY OF CARPENTERS WORKSHOP GALLERY
Art Room (2020) by SALMAN TOOR.
Red lip-shaped sofa on a white background minimal design
Vintage Simpukka table lamp by Paavo Tynell. 
Louisa bedside carafe and glass set by Porta.
Occasional table by OTTO SCHULZ
Vintage Swedish rug, similar available at MÄRTA MÅÅS-FJETTERSTRÖM
Alpha club chair by PIERRE PAULIN
Untitled 159 by ROGER HERMAN
Art Room (2020) by SALMAN TOOR.
Red lip-shaped sofa on a white background minimal design
Vintage Simpukka table lamp by Paavo Tynell. 
Louisa bedside carafe and glass set by Porta.
Occasional table by OTTO SCHULZ
Vintage Swedish rug, similar available at MÄRTA MÅÅS-FJETTERSTRÖM
Alpha club chair by PIERRE PAULIN
Untitled 159 by ROGER HERMAN

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Late Fall Issue under the headline, “History Lesson.” Subscribe to the magazine.