Hermès has turned its Venice windows into a quietly surreal still life with “Inside the Cabinet,” a new site specific project where handcrafted vessels, furniture and food form a contemplative stage for the house’s objects, on view until August 2026.
Inside The Cabinet Concept
“Inside the Cabinet” imagines the window as a cabinet like interior where everyday objects oscillate “between memory and imagination.” Within this constructed world, vessels, furniture and food become both props and protagonists, their forms suggesting domesticity, ritual and gathering without spelling out a literal narrative.
The installation is conceived so that Hermès pieces from table objects to accessories sit among these handcrafted elements as if discovered in situ, part of a life that is implied rather than fully shown. This approach keeps the brand’s objects integrated into the scene instead of isolated as stand alone product displays.
Each element in the cabinet environment is handmade by the artist, intentionally retaining the trace of its making. Surfaces reveal tool marks, textures and slight irregularities that pull the composition away from pure luxury polish and toward something more tactile and human.
This emphasis on process echoes Hermès’ own craft centric ethos, aligning the artist’s language with the maison’s longstanding focus on materials and savoir faire. It also reinforces the idea that what we see in the window is less a fixed tableau and more a snapshot in an ongoing story shaped by time, material and perception.
Venice As A Setting
Set in Venice, Italy, the project responds to a city defined by layers of history, interiors hidden behind facades, and a constant play between water, reflection and stone. The cabinet metaphor resonates strongly in this context: Venetian palazzi and apartments are filled with vitrines, cupboards and shelves where objects hold memories of travel, family and ritual.
By bringing this sensibility into the street facing windows, Hermès links the intimacy of private interiors with the public realm, inviting passersby to slow down and contemplate a composed scene that feels at once familiar and slightly dreamlike.
Collaboration And Photography
The window project is realised in collaboration with Sans titre. gallery, a Paris based gallery known for its multidisciplinary approach and close work with international artists. This partnership situates the installation within a broader contemporary art discourse, framing it as an artistic commission rather than a purely commercial display.
Photography is credited to Ugo Carmeni Studio, whose images capture the subtle light shifts, material details and quiet tension between the Hermès objects and the handmade environment. The resulting visuals extend the window’s narrative beyond Venice, circulating the project through art and design channels as well as fashion.
