“31 RUE CAMBON”

Tom Sachs presents 31 Rue Cambon, a new installation that interrogates the mythology of luxury through the lens of bootleg culture, and explores the fragile boundary between authenticity, desire, and mass consumption.

Installed at Sachs's long-time SoHo studio and on view from September 11 to October 10, 2026, 31 Rue Cambon transforms the artist's workspace into a fully immersive Chanel boutique populated entirely by hand-fabricated re-creations of the house's iconic suits, accessories, furnishings, jewelry, packaging, and retail displays. Constructed from found materials such as plywood, acrylic, cardboard, and tape, using the ethics of bricolage - the French concept of creation and problem solving using readily available materials, often repurposed or borrowed - 31 Rue Cambon re-imagines one of fashion's most recognizable brands as a meditation on authorship, value, labor, envy, and the cultural machinery of luxury. Handmade jewelry integrating LEGO elements and bicycle reflectors appears alongside furniture inspired by Coco Chanel's celebrated Parisian apartment. A custom soundtrack blends ambient and horror movie music with archival Chanel advertising.

Drawing on Sachs's longstanding fascination with craftsmanship and brand deconstruction, and named after the historic flagship boutique and heart of the Chanel empire in Paris, France, 31 Rue Cambon constructs an alternate universe around Chanel in which the visual codes of haute couture are meticulously reproduced while simultaneously being called into question. Throughout the installation, visitors encounter familiar symbols rendered unfamiliar through the artist's characteristic insistence on visible construction, intentional imperfection, and the handmade. At its core, the project asks where value resides: Is luxury found in a logo, a material, an object, a cultural myth, or in the labor required to create something by hand?

“Lust for consuming is replaced with love of making.”
– Tom Sachs

Building upon the world-building strategies of Nutsy's (Bohen Foundation, New York City, 2002; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, 2003) and the ongoing Space Program (Gagosian, Beverly Hills, 2007; Park Avenue Armory, New York City, 2012; Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, San Francisco, 2016-2017; Deichtorhallen Hall for Contemporary Art, Hamburg, 2021-2022; Art Sonje Center, Seoul, 2022; Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, 2025), 31 Rue Cambon operates as a fully realized environment, merging sculpture, craftsmanship, performance, architecture, display, sound, and live activation in one large-scale Gesamtkunstwerk.

Rich with art historical references, 31 Rue Cambon evokes the lineage of Claes Oldenburg's landmark installation The Store (1961), reimagining the artist-run storefront for an era in which luxury brands have become dominant cultural and economic forces. The project also extends lines of inquiry first explored in Sachs's Chanel Guillotine (Breakfast Nook) (1998), held in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Elsewhere, sculptural gestures referencing newspaper boxes and date-stamped objects nod to the work of On Kawara, while broader concerns with appropriation, authenticity, and commodity culture place the installation in dialogue with a wider history of postwar and contemporary art.

At the same time, 31 Rue Cambon incorporates deeply personal narratives. The project draws upon Sachs's early experience making furniture and racks for the Alaia boutique at the original Barney’s New York, commissioned by architect Peter Marino, whose practice has become synonymous with luxury retail architecture and Chanel's global visual identity.

The show is curated by fashion historian Colby Mugrabi.

Exhibition Information
Tom Sachs: 31 Rue Cambon
Tom Sachs Studio, 245 Centre Street, New York City
Friday, September 11 through Saturday, October 10, 2026
Thursdays & Fridays: 6-8pm
Saturdays: 1-6pm
Sundays - Wednesdays: Closed
Admission: Free to the public, but space is extremely limited.