Puces Portrait : Christophe Guérard

A portrait of a young dealer who treats antiques as art installations, and value as something felt rather than calculated.

Christophe Guérard opened his stand Anti-matière interieur at the Puces in January 2024. In the conversation that follows, Christophe explains his very personal approach to the antiques business – one that values the secret histories and intrinsic formal power of objects over their market price. His curation brings together humble folk art, minor masterpieces, curious primitive forms, conceptual ready-mades and fragile objects shaped by people and time, celebrating accident, imperfection and patina in a powerfully poetic way.

Why the Puces de Saint-Ouen? Why have a stand here?
It’s a place I’ve always loved. I’m originally from Metz, in the provinces. When I came to Paris as a teenager, I came specifically for the Puces – I was already drawn to the atmosphere. It’s one of the places in the world with the greatest mix of social classes – there are objects here that might be worth a million euros – or more – and objects that aren’t even worth one euro, sold by the biffins. It may sound idealistic, but I believe that there are genuine encounters between very different people here. And it’s free. Like people say, it’s an open-air museum. Everyone has the right to come, to look, to wander. That creates an energy, a dynamic I’ve always loved.