Becoming with James DarleParis

What’s on your mind right now? A few things. An Italian client wants the chairs he bought delivered to his summer house in Saint-Tropez, but he is never there. The earliest date he has given me is August 2027, so in the meantime I’m storing the chairs.

I also have a mirror that might be from Paul Poiret’s Atelier Martine, but someone has rather haphazardly repainted it with bronze spray paint. I’m looking for a lacquer artist who can help me choose the right palette and give it a patina that feels true to its age.

And then there is a Wiener Werkstätte barrel armchair. If I could match it with certainty to a drawing by Josef Hoffmann, it would make quite a difference when it comes to selling it. So I’m going through tons of documentation, hoping to find it.

And the list goes on…

What inspired you to start doing what you do? The dealers who introduced me to this world. David Corcos, for instance, makes being an antique dealer look easy. Ironically, his motto is “On n’a pas un métier facile” (ours is not an easy trade). He knows an incredible amount and is so much fun to be around. He taught me to be uncompromising about the pieces we buy and the way we present them: no approximate attributions, no re-editions, just the good stuff.

Then there are Christophe Guérard of Anti-Matière Intérieur and Manolo Vosse of Galerie Kopek. I love their presence and the way they treat a booth almost like a stage, using every part of the décor to strike a chord with someone. Their acquisitions consistently surprise me. Very inspiring.

A dealer once welcomed me to the art market by saying, “You can’t understand art until the money leaves your pocket.” I found that quite shocking at the time. I came from an anti-establishment approach to art, putting on shows in squats and other spaces where money never really mattered. But I’ve come to see that his approach is valid too. Buying a work makes you look at it in a more grounded way. That perspective now sits alongside my critical thinking.

What changes are you hoping to drive with your work? I’m still too new to this world to claim I’m going to change it. But I’d love to help cut through some of the bullshit in the antiques trade. One day, I’d like to create a market where dealers are expected to be 100% genuine about what they know, what they don’t know, and what they’re selling. I feel it would be very good for business.

What is the hardest part of becoming yourself? I already feel too established as who I am. I’d like to surprise myself with new aspects of my personality.

Name a book, film or podcast that changed you recently. Magnolia, by Paul Thomas Anderson. I like being reminded that the story we tell ourselves isn’t set in stone, and that there is always room for change: a new perspective, or a better way of treating others, or ourselves. My Dinner with André does that too. These two films have the power to change lives.

If you could instantly embody a few skills, what would they be? Speaking Mandarin. I visited China a few times when my parents were living in Shanghai, and the Westerners there who were fluent in Mandarin seemed to have a superpower. Also furniture reupholstery. And pull-ups.

What’s your favourite life hack? Putting on blinders and moving forward. I can go through long periods of tunnel vision, but thankfully, when I finally stop and look around, there seems to have been some progress.

What is self-care for you? I don’t usually pay much attention to self-care. Sometimes I notice that I’m having a glow-up or a glow-down, but that tends to reflect my state of mind more than anything I actually see in the mirror.

What could you not live without? My wife. She is a great source of support. I can bring her my doubts and ask for reassurance or advice, and I trust her taste. She’s quite conservative, so when I’m considering a strong piece that might be a little too daring, I know she’ll put the brakes on.