Art in Space

Lucas Beaufort Untitled (2019). Photo credit Nate Dumlao

In 2019, I received a message on Instagram from Lucas Beaufort, a renowned muralist from France. He was coming to Los Angeles in November and was inspired by the space we created at Bar Nine, and wanted to know if we'd be interested in collaborating. I was immediately inspired by his work and sensibilities and loved the idea. I told him that we were building a new space in Marina del Rey, an all-day concept called Ten, and asked if he'd be ok focusing on that space. I was so thrilled when he said yes.

At the time of his visit in November 2019, the space was still a blank canvas in many ways. The kitchen and bar were being constructed based on designs that started development in 2018, when the building itself was being built. I told him our vision and the intent of the space, the wrapped marble counters with stainless steel taps, the concrete tables with pink velvet chairs, the abundance of natural light, the confluence of old and new elements. Next to state of the art coffee tech on those gleaming white marble counters was also a black rotary phone as the house phone. Menu development started in notebooks, graduating to a typewriter - elements that spoke to the fluidity and ever-changing nature of the creative process, contrasted with the exhilerating advancements of our Rational Combi oven, where precision took precedent.

Lucas arrived to the space on November 20th. We put butcher paper over the windows and cleared space, allowing him to get to work. He had no limitations, just an understanding of our approach and that he was going to do something in line with his black line series. Over the course of the day, he got to work. It was raining outside, the space enveloped in cool, grey light while Thom Yorke played through our 4 Sonos 5s, mounted on concrete pillars, wrapped in a marble skin, 20 feet in the air. While the space had many elements to be built, getting the music going early was non-negotiable for me.

By the end of the day, the work was done. Lucas, equal parts quiet and caring, brought discipline to his craft and life to our space. For work that is so vibrant, it always moved me how humble he carried himself. His piece became the centerpiece for the space, the gravity with which all the other elements were drawn to. I'd look up at the mural while working in service, taking a moment to appreciate its beauty and whimsy, breathing in the calm of the moment and of the memory of that day in 2019, when he brought his magic to Marina del Rey.

Thank you Lucas.

*Author's Note: Ten as a cafe no longer exists, it was closed in 2024 after opening and operating during the pandemic. That this space and piece now exist in the ephemeral confines of memory feels sad to me at times, although that it ever got to exist at all is something I will always feel grateful for.