Page 45 - Reside Magazine Premier Central Florida

Reside — Central Florida Edition

unusual creations in the window would burst out laughing, thinking it
must be a joke. Such pieces—though displayed today in some of the
world’s greatest museum collections—were unmarketable at the time.
The gallery’s accountant bristled with concern, but Gastou proved to
be an excellent salesperson. Though he spoke no English, he managed to land
sales with American buyers who couldn’t understand a word of French.
His sheer energy spoke for itself. He then broadened his scope, and was soon
selling works from the mid-20th century alongside contemporary designs.
Gastou presented furniture by André Arbus, Jean-Charles Moreux, and Marc
du Plantier at the prestigious Biennale des antiquaires, which until then had
stubbornly refused to exhibit any decorative art from after 1930.
Gastou never confined himself to a particular period of the 20th
century—he was too curious, and saw beauty in objects that others
dismissed. He also resurrected forgotten talents. If he came across an original
piece of furniture as he browsed, he sought out its designer. That was how
he gave a second wind to the career of Ado Chale, whose tables topped with
petrified wood or stone mosaics had thrilled buyers in the 1970s. Gastou
“ Gastou would eagerly juxtapose an armchair by Gio Ponti with a Lalanne
also initiated the production of Philippe Hiquily’s sculpture-furniture,
which had been in demand decades earlier.
He exhibited work from every decade and joyfully jumbled it together.

sheep sculpture and bookshelves designed by Zaha Hadid. On a single
occasional table he placed a figurine of a phallus-brandishing Mickey
HE SAW BEAUTY
Mouse next to a praying Madonna.
However, one of his design passions remained secret until two
IN OBJECTS THAT
at the École des Arts Joailliers in Paris. From the precious episcopal rings
OTHERS DISMISSED years before his death. In 2018 he unveiled his huge collection of men’s rings
” joined his father’s business in 2005: “If he enjoyed the show, he would
of bishops to skull rings worn by Hell’s Angels, he had amassed more than
a thousand of them. Gastou also loved opera, and regularly attended
the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille. According to his son Victor, who

express his enthusiasm by shouting ‘bravo’ so loudly that the staff

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