The art of timeless elegance | A conversation with Atelier WOCS founder
Parkgest - What does Atelier WOCS want to bring to the visual world of the poster artistry?
Robert Topulos - Our art edition collections carry a legacy of modern history and contain a multitude of subtleties and details emblematic of our era and generation. Atelier WOCS continues a forward-thinking tradition in poster artistry history. It is the "Art Poster", a precursory movement that dates back to the end of the 19th century initiated by the French painter and lithographer Jules Chéret. He was able to make the art of poster stand out from commercial posters, among other things, because of its high quality, artistic approach and signed, numbered and limited art prints. He has established his work in several Parisian and London galleries and art shows alongside oil paintings. By defying artistic authority and through his strong determination, he imposed his work on the art market, sparking a surge of interest from the elites of yesteryear.
He allowed the art of poster to be classified as a decorative art in the hierarchy of the arts and he would gain full legitimacy at the 1889 Universal Exhibition. It was at this same exhibition that Louis Vuitton presented his famous Damier trunk and won the Gold Medal, but also that the Eiffel Tower was presented by Gustave Eiffel after two years of construction.
The commercial poster had a very different purpose than the art poster. The production of commercial posters often numbered in tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of copies, so in my opinion, the notion of rarity is rather relative for many standard vintage posters.
To further answer your question, one day in a conversation with one of our major collectors who is also a watch collector, we were discussing one of the Atelier WOCS artworks he owns and he brought up the term "garde-histoire" (English: history-keeper) to define it. That term has stuck with me and I think it defines the intent of our collections. To tell the story and the beauty of our heritage, while perfecting this harmony between classicism and modernity. To offer the world, pieces that evoke the timelessness of a certain elegance and that will continue to evoke it over time. Atelier WOCS pieces are thought and designed to be preserved and to passed through generations.