Please Do Not Enter founders open 'The Mind' at Orange County Museum of Art

By

Chenu Alexis

Published
Oct 6, 2022

Inaugurated last week, the brand new OCMA, Orange County Museum of Art, in Costa Meza, called upon the French duo of Please Do Not Enter, Nicolas Libert and Emmanuel Renoird, to imagine a unique 1,600-square-feet space dedicated to fashion, art and design, dubbed 'The Mind'.

“The Mind was born from an original idea, that of offering a store that is everything but a classic museum store," explained Libert. “A destination within a destination, lived as a real experience, not compartmentalized and open to the art galleries. Our approach was to offer a selection that gives a retrospective view of the creations of the past. A point of view that does not exist in contemporary art museums, whose stores are always oriented towards a selection of only contemporary objects.”
 
In addition to 'The Library', dedicated to a selection of art books, magazines, posters and museum-related publications; 'The OCMA Exclusive', which focuses on merchandising developed in conjunction with contemporary art exhibitions; and 'The Post Office', offering a collection of limited-edition postcards and a free mailing service, 'The Mind' unveils its 'Vintage Gallery', a space dedicated to vintage fashion, jewelry and design. 

Offered at the pre-opening and gala evenings, the collection of pieces from the 60's and 70's signed by Pierre Cardin, was snapped up in a few days, other pieces from the Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garçons collections complete the offer. Other objects also complete the vintage theme, “such as surfboards and skateboards that reproduce iconic Flemish paintings from the 17th and 19th centuries," said Libert, "a way of connecting the museum's old works to youth culture, worlds that are generally unaccustomed to meeting.”

Another highlight of the place, 'The Collection' showcases a regularly renewed selection of objects and pieces of jewelry, art, fashion and contemporary design, such as items signed by the Angelenos duo The Haas Brothers; bags made from human hair by artist Charlie le Mindu; creative ceramics by Klein Reid Studio; the small French leather goods Kobja made from toad skin; the fantastic jewelry of Israeli Tzuri Gueta and items from Mouchkine Jewelery.
 
The Mind is also surrounded by a monumental sculpture made by the French artist Sébastien Léon. "An installation made from stainless-steel mirrors, which reflects the surrounding museum architecture made by the architect Thom Mayne and his agency Morphosis," explained Libert. And when you get closer, it reveals a zen and hypnotic sound installation, composed by the artist in collaboration with musician and producer Joshua Carter of Phantogram.”
 
Longtime art and design collectors, Renoird and Libert have long collaborated with artists and designers on products for Please Do Not Enter, a retail and exhibition space with locations in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles and global shopping destination South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, a mall next to the OCMA, and which today gathers all the luxury brands in the world, as well as diamond dealer Harry Winston, and Hermès, Gucci and Louis Vuitton.