When it opened its Los Angeles design gallery last year, San Francisco-based Coup D’Etat (coupdetatsf.com) introduced the city to its beautifully curated and imaginative range of offerings. Here, president and creative director Darin Geise shares the gallery’s unique philosophy and cherry-picks standout talent from the City of Angels and beyond.
Linda Fahey’s custom tile installation anchors the main gallery at Coup D’Etat’s new Los Angeles space. Coup Studio pieces, the Deca table by Damian Jones and a side table by John Liston are also shown. PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Coup D’Etat offers a wonderful sense of amazement and discovery. What is the common thread that connects all of the artists and designers you rep here in L.A.?
Every artist we represent is living their dream and is completely involved in their businesses. [They] are their own employers. When you look at each artist and designer, you are getting a map of their creative vision. You’re peeking into their souls. While each artisan’s and designer’s work is very different, it somehow works together in the gallery. … I can place the Edwin Maldonado Cain chair, pair it with a Natasha Baradaran Nest sofa, a Tiberinus side table by Chuck Moffit, hang a Douglas Fanning Till chandelier over the vignette, and we have an impressive collection of heirloom furniture. Heirloom is an overused word in our industry, but these artists are producing pieces that… will be passed down through multiple generations and are—or will be—collectible very soon. They’re works of art.
Coup D’Etat president and creative director Darin Geise. PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
What makes Coup D’Etat stand out among other showrooms in L.A.?
L.A. offers some of the top galleries and design showrooms in the country. And they all do their own thing, and their perspectives are correct for their motivations. But Coup D’Etat has a unique approach. Our assortment is eclectic but highly curated. It’s not all one note. We layer different aesthetics and viewpoints. We strive to constantly surprise, and our presentation is highly contemplative. … When you’re in the showroom, I want you to feel exhilarated. You might not be able to put your finger on the exact reason you are moved by our space, but you will feel an undeniable energy. Our galleries have a heartbeat and a soul. A client comes in and sits on a super rare chair, puts their feet up on a $100,000 cocktail table and falls in love with a Native American Apache basket. Oh wait, is that a 65 million-year-old brachylophosaurus foot? Yes, it is.
What can readers expect this winter and spring at Coup D’Etat?
We are putting on a gallery show for artist Leslie Nix in February to coincide with Frieze LA. She has created commissioned work for many high-profile collectors, but this will be the first time her oil paintings and slag lamps will be presented in a focused gallery show. I’m thrilled about her recent body of work and can’t wait to share it with L.A. designers and art collectors. We also have some killer 1970s vintage pieces that will be hitting our floor in the next few months. Very L.A.! Think Boogie Nights! And some new contemporary artists just signed on with us in Los Angeles and San Francisco; it will be the first time these artists will be shown in L.A.
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Known for her slag lamps made from pressed opaque glass and handcut brass, L.A.-based Leslie Nix is also a painter who finds inspiration from her travels. “Her experiences in Africa have heavily influenced her most recent body of work, including the ‘Temba’ and ‘Mpumalanga’ paintings, which feature monochromatic geometric shapes depicting natural scenes in oil and wax,” Geise says. “Leslie’s distinct personal style shines through in her work. She is a free-spirited goddess with a distinct personal style. This… is reflected in her art, which fosters her love of all life and her fascination with the natural world!”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
“Edwin Maldonado is a master of the lost art of traditional French leather upholstery,” says Geise. “He’s a ‘new traditionalist’ who creates artful pieces that tell a story around old work techniques.” The artist begins each new design with a sketch, then sculpts leather of wood and metal frames using a unique wet-and-steam technique. “The sculpted forms are hand-dyed,” Geise adds. “This process gives each piece a one-of-a-kind finish.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
“His work blurs the lines between art and functional furniture,” says Geise of Mount Baldy-based artist and furniture designer Chuck Moffit, who creates pieces from glass, steel, bronze, leather and other unexpected materials. “The scale of some of his pieces is intimidating, but when you peer closer at the fine artistry and details, you are transported to an era when every piece of furniture was hand-forged by master craftspeople.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Known for his intricately detailed handmade metal-clad furniture, L.A.-based Damian Jones’ work has influences from Italian art nouveau and East African tribal art and architecture. “His work is commanding, multidimensional and uniquely his own style,” says Geise. “For those collectors that want a one-of-a-kind piece, the essence of Damian’s work is that no two works will ever be exactly alike. The nature of the work and the applied details are going to create subtle differences.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Based in Florence, Italy, Kalliope Lydaki creates pieces from porcelain and clay, finished with glazes made from precious metals. Geise met Lydaki—whose work is available in the U.S. exclusively at Coup D’Etat—during a vintage buying trip in Italy and was captivated by her atelier. “We were taken with her animal sculptures and the ceramic wall fish installation displayed in her space,” he says. “The ceramic fish sculptures can create wall installations of different sizes and orientations. Their three-dimensionality creates the illusion of movement and lightness, and is a complement to spaces that want to break away from a more formal form of wall art.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
“Northern California ceramicist Linda Fahey’s art occupies a space [that] juxtaposes form and scale to create both tension and harmony,” says Geise, who notes that Fahey creates her work by using a combination of pinch and slab building techniques. “Her objects and tile installations are influenced by the creative process of conception; she spends a lot of time thinking about shape and form before creating the art.” Fahey created a sculptural wall tile for Coup D’Etat’s L.A. showroom—the first time her large-scale tile installations have been shown in a gallery setting.
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Based in Los Angeles, Jocelyn Marsh’s primary mediums include sculpture and lighting design. “Central to her work is the theme that existence springs from the unknown space between death and life, the void that causes mixed emotions throughout humanity,” Geise explains. “Marsh celebrates this unknown space, imparting on her work a sense of reverence toward nature. The work combines—or is inspired by—the vestiges of insects and fauna with fine metals and crystal elements. Each detail in the work is painstakingly overseen and highly detailed.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
“We appreciate the way Patrick creates furniture,” says Geise, who describes Patrick Weder Design’s work as functional yet architectural, sculptural and refined. “He balances natural and artisanal processes in an elegant and unassuming way. It’s important to mention that each work is one of a kind and created by Patrick in his Brooklyn studio. With his great passion for nature and the environment, he maintains a focus on sustainability and selective designs built to endure over time. These are the pieces we want in our own homes.”
With multiple rooms and vignettes, the gallery offers a wonderful sense of discovery. The “Secret Room” houses pieces from Christopher Boots, Damian Jones, Leslie Nix, Douglas Fanning, Jocelyn Marsh and Elan Atelier. PHOTO COURTESY OF COUP D’ETAT
Photography by:
