A vignette at Galerie Lerebours begins with a Jean-Michel Frank-inspired parquetry cabinet, France, 20th c. The Epure Mirror in hammered, textured iron with 24k gold leaf is by French metal artist Franck Chartrain. As a self-described “artistic blacksmith,” he blends ancestral know-how with modern design. From her large collection of lighting, Ms. Lerebours selected a contemporary craft French Ceramic Bespoke Lamp from Atelier Elegie with intricate basketweave texture detail to round out the composition.





By Benjamin Genocchio

Photography by Diego Martinez-Conde, Clement Pinaut, and Mike Vitelli



For more than two decades, Cathy Lerebours built her Manhattan gallery on a deep knowledge of design and a passion for French antiques. She curated an exceptional inventory of Louis XVI commodes, parquetry furniture, mid-century French cabinets, Italian mirrors, and finely made historical objects. She established her reputation among interior designers seeking furniture with history, character, and exceptional workmanship. Eventually, the gallery also introduced Lerebours Bespoke, a collection of plaster lighting fixtures and furnishings inspired by great 20th-century European designers Jean-Michel Frank and Paul Duprè-Lafon. Today, the gallery has a new name, a new website, and a broader vision. Galerie Lerebours now represents a carefully selected group of contemporary designers alongside eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century furniture, reflecting the changing tastes of collectors while remaining rooted in the traditions that first defined the business.



Left: Another stunning vignette; a study in whites. From Ateliers Vallin Avignant, the “One” Plaster 3-Door Sideboard with sinuous hand-carved plaster detail and crimson lacquer interior with shelves. French bespoke Limoges porcelain “Anemone” Mirror with gold-leaf mirror and “Anemone” Table Lamps by Dora Stanczel. The final touch: a luxuriously decadent and dramatic French bespoke bronze “Les Fleurs du Mal” Candelabra pair by Alina Alamorean.  Upper right: The spectacularly sculptural hand-woven metal Constellation Chandelier by Philippe Montels. Photo: Mike Vitelli  Lower right: Light reflects and diffuses across the organic, fluid surfaces of Atelier Victor Tison’s bespoke brass Bobi Chair, bringing a sensory and sculptural dimension to the creation. Handcrafted in hammered, bent, rolled, and sculpted brass. Photo: Clement Pinaut.



The shift is less a change of direction than an expansion of it. “I’ll never stop buying antiques and vintage pieces,” Lerebours says. “They feed my soul. They don’t sell as quickly as contemporary work anymore, but I love how walking through my gallery is like taking a trip through eras of design.” That philosophy explains the gallery’s recent rebranding. Like many dealers, Lerebours has watched the market for traditional furniture soften as collectors gravitate toward collectible design and limited-edition contemporary work. In response, she has sought out contemporary makers whose work shares the balance, restraint, and attention to detail she has always admired in historical furniture. “I still buy vintage whenever I’m in France,” she says. “Every time I find a classic Louis XV chest or a wonderful vintage 1940s cabinet, I buy it. But these days I am rushing between artist studios as well.”


A walk through her Upper East Side gallery makes her approach immediately apparent. A rectilinear French cabinet from the 1940s stands beside a monumental oak sideboard whose clean geometry anticipates contemporary minimalism. Nearby is a 19th-century parquetry commode, an elegant Italian enamel mirror from the 1980s, and geometric French mirrors discovered in Paris. “I love the 1940s and 1950s in France,” she says. “Those designers looked back to classical design but simplified it. The proportions are beautiful, and the designs transcend time and place.”



Left: Bespoke Hand-woven Oak Three Panel Screen in solid black acacia, oak and woven fibers by Ruben Silva, Studio Silva, Portugal.  Right: Bespoke French Plaster Brutalist Console made exclusively for Galerie Lerebours by Auberlet et Laurent, a century-old plaster atelier based in Paris.


Left: Steamed ash wood bespoke French “Ecliptic” lighting fixture by Mark Collett, exclusively for Galerie Lerebours. Right: French bespoke Crocodile Coffee Table in bronze with polished bronze legs by Patrick Laroche, limited edition 1 of 8. 



Over the past five years, she has assembled a roster of around a dozen contemporary designer/makers, most of them French, whose work reflects that same disciplined approach to form and material. Among them is Atelier Stefan Leo, the multidisciplinary Berlin studio whose sculptural furniture combining bronze, ceramic, glass, and hand-finished plaster appears in Dior boutiques. The Golf Coffee Table, with a hand-sculpted ceramic base supporting a thick pâte de verre glass top has become one of the gallery’s many memorable pieces, alongside a hand-hammered brass bench. Many of Lerebours’ successful discoveries are ceramicists. French artist Dora Stanczel’s expressive, textured porcelain pieces have proved especially popular with interior designers. “My designers love her mirrors and lamps,” she says. Barbara Billoud, another artist whose practice focuses on ceramic mirrors and lamps, takes a more minimalist approach to the medium, employing the Japanese raku technique to produce sleek, sculptural pieces.


Lerebours speaks eloquently about her passion for the contemporary makers in her stable. “As serendipitous as it feels when you discover that perfect vintage piece, it is completely magical to watch an artist create in real time,” Lerebours says. “Working with living artists is new to me, and I’m so honored to represent such an impressive group of craftspeople who use their impeccable technical skill to experiment with and innovate the tenets of design.”


Her enthusiasm is infectious, as she shares several of her discoveries. There is Atelier Victor Tison, a former auto body technician who brings remarkable technical precision to his award-winning brass sculptural lighting and furniture. Atelier MA Aston (Mark Collett), an English sculptor based in Saint-Bonnet-Briance, France, creates sculptural lighting and objects from locally and ethically sourced wood; Franck Chartrain, a French artist, designer, and master metalsmith; Ateliers Vallin Avignant, a creative studio dedicated to the intersection of art, craftsmanship, furniture, and interior design founded by artisans Sébastien Vallin and Philippe Avignant; and Studio NAWA, a new creative partnership between artist/architects Alina Nazmeeva and John Wagner, based in Chicago.



Left: Pair of bespoke French Glazed Raku Ceramic Sconces handcrafted by Barbara Billoud; available in custom shapes and ceramic finishes. Right: A gallery vignette with contemporary pieces: a sofa in the Royère manner with Jouffre upholstery; side tables by Atelier Stefan Leo: left of sofa, Golf Cocktail Table with colored glass top and textured ceramic base and right of sofa, bespoke K2 Glazed Ceramic Side Table; Dora Stanczel French bespoke ceramic Ruffle Lamps as shown, or can be customized to size, color and finish; Studio Nawa’s limited edition mirror-polished stainless steel Surface Table transforms a single sheet of stainless steel into an object of fluid geometry and reflective distortion.


Left: Dune Wall Sculpture, 2025 by Maxime Perrolle, 2 panels in sculpted and stained ash. Right: Pure elegance, modern and original design – the hand-hammered bronze and iron Meteorites Console by Franck Chartrain, France. 



A standout is Philippe Montels, whose elaborate rope chandeliers reinterpret traditional decorative lighting through contemporary craftsmanship. Their rich texture and sculptural presence have already attracted considerable attention. “I’ve already had multiple requests from designers here in the United States for that chandelier,” she says, pointing to a piece by Montels hanging in the gallery entry foyer.


Other represented artists include French sculptor Maxime Perrolle, whose sculpted wood wall reliefs and architectural surfaces reflect his work for Cartier, and jeweler and metal artist Alina Alamorean, whose folded bronze candlesticks blur the line between sculpture and functional object. Franco-Swiss sculptor Patrick Laroche began his career as a reproduction artist for The Louvre. He combines centuries-old techniques with contemporary vision to create art furniture in bronze, stone, and wood. The gallery recently launched a collaboration with Auberlet et Laurent, a premier plasterer since 1873, which served as the historic studio’s debut into contemporary object production. Lerebours has also expanded into Portugal with emerging designer Ruben Silva, known for handcrafted wood and rattan screens. “His furniture demonstrates the same respect for material and form that runs throughout the gallery,” she says. 


Meanwhile, the gallery itself has become increasingly digital. Many clients now discover the work online at Incollect, Instagram, or through the gallery’s recently redesigned website before arranging a visit. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the gallery,” she says. “Since we introduced a new brand identity, refreshed our digital presence, and recently debuted in prestigious fairs, including The Winter Show and Salon Art + Design, the market response has been really positive. We’re thrilled about both the continued and new engagement with our more multifaceted approach, one that keeps our love of vintage pieces alive while incorporating work by living artists.”


The strategy reflects the changing realities of the design market, affirming a belief that has guided Lerebours throughout her career — that good design is never confined to a single period. “Collectors today are less interested in rigid categories than in distinctive objects, whether made two centuries ago or last month, all of which they increasingly find online.”




Discover More From Galerie Lerebours on Incollect