Born in 1947, Jacques Garcia discovered his talent for drawing and his fascination for objets d'art at an early age. He studied at the Atelier Met de Peninghen school of interior design in Paris in the field of applied arts. His illustrious career, which has spanned almost 30 years, makes Jacques Garcia one of the most sought-after French interior decorators of our time.
Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, including Zen minimalism, neo-Gothic excess, Egyptian revival, and Napoléon III extravagance, Jacques Garcia began his career by specializing in contemporary architecture, notably designing the interior concepts for the Montparnasse Tower and the Meridien group of hotels. He also began his lifelong study and acquisition of seventeenth century pieces, which resulted in a magnificent, personal collection of furniture and royal objects. This passion as a collector gave rise to the desire to exhibit his finds and Jacques Garcia gradually secured a private clientele who solicited his expertise to breathe new life into their stately residences.
Jacques Garcia has designed private and commercial properties throughout the world, including projects in France, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Beirut, Baden Baden, Geneva and Brussells. More than 24 prestigious Parisian addresses carry the Garcia seal, including the famed Hôtel Costes, le Fouquet's, Ladurée, L'Esplanade, L'Avenue, La Grande Armée, Le Ruc, Le Cabaret, the Hôtel des Beaux-Arts, and Le Rivoli-Notre Dame. M. Garcia is also responsible for the elegant restoration of one of Paris' most stunning buildings, the Hôtel de Mansart on the rue des Tournelles, originally designed by one of the principal architects of Versailles.
Other Parisian commissions include the pied-à-terre of the Sultan of Brunei, and a partnership with Diane Desseigne, owner of the hotel group, Lucien Barrière. This collaboration began with the renovation of several suites at its Hôtel Royal in Deauville and continues today with the renovation of all of Lucien Barrière's flagship hotels, including the Hôtel Majestic in Cannes and the Grand Hôtel d'Enghien in Paris.
His current U.S. projects include the Hotel Victor in South Beach, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten's highly touted Spice Market, which led to a second collaboration with Vongerichten to design Rare restaurant in the Time Warner Center in New York, opening in the summer of 2004. Additionally, Le Reve, a posh new Las Vegas resort owned by the Wynn Group has commissioned Garcia for its interior design and is slated to open in 2005.
Of world renown is Jacques Garcia's ten-year renovation of Champ de Bataille, a 17th century French chateau and gardens he acquired in 1992. Situated in Normandy, the Champ de Bataille displays the full range of Jacques Garcia's talent, its drawing rooms, galleries, game rooms, and libraries a blending of genres that speak to his rare talent. Inspired by the designs of André Lenôtre, the gardens of Champ de Bataille are one of the largest, 20th century private landscape gardening projects, receiving more than 30,000 visitors every year.
Jacques Garcia's projects also include his exhibits in France's national museums. He designed the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet, and was involved in a large exhibition organized by the city of Paris, "All the Gardens of the World," at the Bagatelle Garden. M. Garcia is also responsible for the resuscitation of the Musée de la Vie Romantique, which house the works and memories of writer, George Sand.
Jacques Garcia has been the recipient of many French cultural distinctions, such as "le Prix Mont-Blanc," and "le Prix Oscar Wilde" in 2002. The same year, l'Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques awarded him the prestigious "Prix Henri Texier" honoring his work in the renovation of Champ de Bataille. Other achievements include receiving the medal of the City of Paris in 1994, named "Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur" in 1997 and "Commandant des Arts et des Lettres" in 2002.
Jacques Garcia's interior design has been the subject of four literary works, including Jacques Garcia ou l'éloge du décor (Jacques Garcia In Praise of the Interior), which sold more than 34,000 copies in its first six months, and is currently in its fourth reprint. Jacques Garcia Decorating in the French Style was published in 2000 to wide critical acclaim, and features the Champ de Bataille. His interior design has also been published in myriad publications such as Architectural Digest, House & Garden, Maison Francaise, Gap, L'Expressmag, la Revue, Elle Decoration, Résidences Décoration, and Connaissance des Arts, to name a few.
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