Karine Laval’s distinctive photographic vision is now part of the newly unveiled Christian Dior flagship on New York’s East 57th Street, designed by celebrated architect Peter Marino. As part of the store’s immersive interior experience, Laval was commissioned to create a monumental backlit garden mural that anchors the Lily of the Valley Tea Salon, located within the home collection space.
Described by Marino as a defining feature of the salon, the mural envelops visitors in a lush, ethereal landscape—characteristic of Laval’s exploration of nature, perception, and transformation. This collaboration marks a significant intersection between contemporary photographic art and luxury retail design, further cementing Laval’s presence within the visual language of leading global brands.
“Entering the Lily of the Valley Tea Salon… you will literally be sitting against the huge backlit mural of a garden by Karine Laval.”
— Peter Marino in WWD
French American artist Karine Laval’s monumental installations transform the lobby of 22 Bishopsgate in London into a magical indoor garden through immersive ‘organic’ murals. A space to reconnect with nature, recharge and reflect. [Click on image for video presentation of the project]
“The Great Escape,” Karine Laval’s new photography Lightbox exhibition installed at the 42 St-Bryant Park (B,D,F,M,7) station, is a tribute to the natural world and brings the artist's quiet garden moments into the subway station below blooming Bryant Park. In the Spring of 2020 during the Covid-19 quarantine, Laval found refuge in her Brooklyn backyard. As she grew more attentive to her own small garden, meditating on the details became a cathartic process. Doing most of her experimentation in the camera, she created new images using sheets of mirrored glass to form layered reflections, merging fantasy with reality. In her colorscapes, Laval plays with nature’s patterns, colors, and light to create alternate realities and a new way of seeing urban nature. Laval first printed these lush images on her home printer and displayed them on the fence of her backyard, exposed to the natural elements. Then as a way to bring community together, invited people to view the work hanging among the plants. The same images of beauty found and created during an unforgettable moment in time, were enlarged and set within the subway station, surrounded by all of the renewed energy of a reopened, reactivated New York City.