Kinetic flowers and rain: carte blanche for studio Nendo

The Japanese design studio Nendo took over Bon Marché in January 2021. Every year, for 5 years now, the Parisian department store has given carte blanche to a creative to design a global work in its monumental setting. This year, Nendo’s director, Oki Sato, is leading the creation, succeeding Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos.

Fleurs de pluie ​​or Ame Nochi Hana is the title of the installation designed by Oki Sato. In it, he explores the connection and interrelation between the universal elements of rainwater and flowers. In the central atrium of Le Bon Marché, kinetic flower-shaped raindrops unfurl between the escalators that visitors use to access upper floors. The droplets and flowers give substance to the spirit of Le Bon Marché at the start of the new year, to “make a new start” as the founder of Nendo explains.

“I think I was inspired by something designer Issey Miyake once told me: ‘you can conjure up all kinds of emotions in art: anger, sadness, fear … but as a designer you have to bring happiness and joy ‘”, Oki Sato says about Fleurs de pluie.