(2) Promotional Postcards, Restaurant Florent, New York City [Tibor Kalman, Douglas Riccardi]

(2) Promotional postcards for Restaurant Florent, 69 Gansevoort Street, New York, c. 1990’s. Design by Memo, New York. Each postcard is 4.25 x 6.

The legendary Restaurant Florent (1985–2008), owned by Florent Morellet, was “an anomalously egalitarian enclave beloved in equal measure by celebrities on the A list and hedonists on the edge, and a prism through which certain aspects of the city’s evolution could be seen with unusual clarity” (The New York Times, 2008).

The graphic design firm M&Co (Tibor Kalman, Alexander Isley) created ads, matchbooks, menus, and other graphics using politics, humor, and activism - in exchange for free meals at the restaurant. In 1993, Memo (Douglas Riccardi, formerly of M&Co) took over at Florent until its closing in 2008. “The work quickly became less political: as Riccardi puts it, instead of, ‘bitchy queens yelling at each other, we turned to more funny things than just screaming’” (Frieze, 2008). This small restaurant’s graphic program, whether funny, political, or provocative, continues to have a huge influence on visual culture today. This collection contains (2) postcards:

• Pink postcard featuring a pig engraving, superimposed with a map (like a butchery cut guide) showing Florent’s Meatpacking neighborhood location.
• Mustard postcard featuring a stomach diagram, parts replaced with typical French menu items. Included in the collection at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (Object No. 1797.2008).

An uncommon set of ephemeral postcards. Both well-preserved with a few light blemishes; mostly to the mustard version.