Arcanum Formæ: Joseph Walsh's bent-ash sculptures at the Hôtel de Sully
A golden loop as tall as the façade, ash wood rippling through the orangery: Joseph Walsh takes over the Hôtel de Sully, free, until 25 October.
in short 10 September – 25 October 2026 · Hôtel de Sully, 62 rue Saint-Antoine, 75004 Paris · Free
published on · by the fugace team · lire en français
Photo · Magali Nautré / Centre des monuments nationaux
Joseph Walsh works wood the way others work ribbon. In his workshop in County Cork, the Irish furniture maker bends thin strips of ash until they twist, fold back and stand up against all logic.
For Paris Design Week, he has set his sculptures in three spaces of the Hôtel de Sully, a grand town house in the Marais. In the main courtyard, a large gilded, engraved loop stands out against the Louis XIII façade. In the orangery, pale ash hulls open out like seashells in front of a wall painted in green and ochre stripes.
The contrast does all the work: free, almost liquid shapes against the perfect geometry of the monument. Walk in from rue Saint-Antoine (Metro Saint-Paul) or through the little door on the place des Vosges. It's open daily 9am–7pm, free and with no booking.
The installation stays until 25 October. Go in the late afternoon, when the low, slanting light makes the gold glow.
