Acumen Galerie Joseph is glad to present the portrait of Axel Huynh, a personality with humanist values and natural talent.
Axel Huynh is the CEO of the Crazybaby agency! a designer and epicurean, he seeks pleasure in inspiration. This creative will transport you into his own universe with his modern vision of art and his attachment to aesthetics.
Entrepreneur at heart, self-taught Parisian designer, creator of emotions and model for Jean Paul Gaultier, Axel Huynh has a singular journey. He managed to create an incredible transversality in his creative inspirations.
"After my last year of high-school in the 90s, I started working in modeling, then as artistic director at the Folies Pigalle and at the Palace before creating, over 20 years ago, my event agency: CRAZYBABY!
In the past four years, I have diversified my activity by creating a "Design & Lifestyle" pole where I express my passion for design through the signing of places, restaurants and private apartments, but also through the creation and edition of furniture , lighting, tableware, "Home & Cashmere Essentials" and fine jewelry with the AXEL HUYNH PARIS label. "
"My approach to events is different, because I take special care to imagine concepts that offer a global experience. Also design is an integral part of it.
It's found in the choice of places that we offer to our customers. Also in the artistic direction and scenography. I always attach importance to create a global cohesion, both in terms of story telling and in the artistic content of our projects."
"My life is full with extremely interesting and passionate people I met, but if I were to give three personalities who have marked me the most, it would be:
Jean Paul Gaultier first. He was the first to believe in me, I walked for his shows during my youth from the age of 17.
Then I think of David Guetta with whom I collaborated at the Palace and " the Bains Douches ", and whose image was managed by me for more than ten years.
I don't forget Amy Winehouse ! I had the chance to organize her first Paris concert where she ignited the stage of the Bobino theater for AZ Universal record. "
"For design, "La Fontaine Gaillon", my last Parisian signature for Benjamin Patou of the Moma Group and Guillaume Houzé of the Galeries Lafayette group. They trusted me to achieve this challenge. Which helped me create a vision for chef Marc Veyrat's new restaurant. A historical place that I had the chance to recreate with a contemporary spirit, while keeping it classy.
For the Crazybaby! Agency, I had the chance to imagine an exhibition by Jean-Michel Basquiat for the inauguration of the FIAT Group's flagship store on the Champs-Élysées.
A sublime building imagined by the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte where we have unveiled a lot of original works by the artist with my friend the gallery owner Enrico Navarra.. "
"I like L.A. or Miami during ART BASEL, which brings together the best international contemporary art galleries as well as contemporary artists.
We invested the Faena hotel with my partner Jim Mannino to imagine "Eden by Perrier-Jouët" where we invited Simon Hammerstein, creator of the famous club "The Box" in London and New York, to come and create an ephemeral place . "
Crazybaby agency! has a large number of clients from the worlds of luxury, automobile industry, Alcohol, fashion and media.
"The name CRAZYBABY! is inspired by the events I organized at the Folies Pigalle.
The success of our agency comes from the transversality of our projects and from our expertise in anticipating new trends. We also like to find new artists and the talents of tomorrow, to connect them with the brands we manage.
Through the activity of his agency, Axel Huynh creates an artistic and sensory dimension to release meanings during the events he organizes, such as the artistic curation of the project CX Prestige of the Hôtel de Crillon by Tristan Auer or the renaissance of the Fontaine Gaillon.
"It's really about what I feel when I discover a new place. I need to immediately capture the soul of spaces, which is the perfect balance between it spirit, its history and its location.
I am also very sensitive to the light and the volumes of a space.
When I met Michael Timsit, owner of Galeries Joseph, what immediately struck me was the unique signature of every places he offers, their quality and excellence.
For my clients, I am always looking for new spaces that offer a different and unexpected aesthetic."
"For four years, at the Cannes Festival, we have been investing the beautiful VILLA AH. This secret place in the heart of " la Croisette " offers a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean sea and becomes, each year during the festival.
It also allows me to reveal my latest creations in a magnificent cinematographic setting.
Through his events, Axel Huynh also seeks to share his knowledge. His philanthropy pushes him to give visibility to young emerging creators. This is how Crazybaby! has established itself as one of the most influential agencies in the capital.
"I have the chance to participate to Paris Design Week since its creation in 2010 and to organize their official events, notably at " la Cité de la Mode et du Design ".
Paris Design Week represents a support to young talents that we bring out to the public by imagining design contests with brands represented by our agency CRAZYBABY!"
"My relationship with design is really instinctive. It has always been an integral part of my DNA. My oldest memory goes back to primary school where I was drawing seat profiles.
I could have become a fashion designer, but it was always the design that appealed to me in the first place.
However, I assume that when you are creative there are no limits to the platform used.
An artist is able to express himself on all types of platforms, material or dematerialized.
Take my example: I like creating a piece of furniture or a light with a mineral touch as much as a porcelain vase. I don't like being locked in a box and this freedom pushes me to go further in creation. "
"For me, the beauty of a design is its ability to be timeless I like the sobriety and the purity of the lines combined with the nobility of the materials. For my creations, I mix a lot of minerals and precious woods."
The "Mighty VIII" cuvée by Axel Huynh Paris, a clear crystal rosé wine from Saint-Victoire en Provence produced in association with the "Maison Louis François". It is a wine with a subtle color and fruity and mineral notes. It was notably previewed in the Villa Ah at the Cannes Film Festival. It will be presented again in September 2020 during the Paris Design Week.
Then a modular sofa which accentuates the elegance of the posture.
"My latest creation is a modular "Yin&Yang sofa" that I developed with the design brand Munna and presented at the last Maison & Objet fair. This sofa is designed according to a new approach that combines comfort with design by adding a functional spirit to the modern interior. It's a bit like a puzzle formed by black and white modules that allow you to compose your ideal shape.
I like that people take my creations and integrate them in their own way in their interior. When I design a piece of furniture, my first thought is about the last use of it, I like to imagine the posture, the look and the elegance that people will have with my creations."
"For the moment, let's be honest, the event sector was hitted hard!
For my part, the cancellation of the Cannes Film Festival was a big blow, because six months of work were useless.
Despite this, we will do everything to make our customers and partners want to follow us in our new adventures enriched with new offers, innovations and surprising new places, with ever more creativity!
As an entrepreneur, I will have to show resilience and creativity, by optimizing my business with this new specification imposed by the COVID-19, by using the imagination to bring new innovations in the event sector. I also plan to develop and amplify my Design & Lifestyle pole with larger and more ambitious projects ... and why not a new hotel!"
It's obvious: designers, artists and creators are moving more and more towards a committed future where high ecological responsibility becomes a priority.
"In my opinion, the future of design will be eco-responsible, with a controlled production chain where we will only produce what is strictly necessary according to our needs.
This will also be made possible through the use of new innovative materials as well as with the help of 3D printers."
"I think that we must take advantage of all the lessons we learned during this quarantine, because the world is changing quickly and nothing will be the same.
The notion of reinvention is expressed not only by new "eco-responsible" consumption, but also by a new approach to the business that is going to digital.
In the light of the current events, the consequences of COVID-19 are much more serious and profound, both economically and humanly.This is when we realize how the world is a small global village where each individual counts. Whether is black or white. We are all united and equal as we face the economic and health crises."