A chat with Léa Zéroil from Galerie Oasis

It’s that time of the year again, Paris Design Week, and this season brings us into Galerie Oasis, the creative space imagined and founded in 2024 by Léa Zéroil and Robin Costes, a place dedicated to creation, dialogue and the valorisation of artistic craftsmanship.

We had the chance to sit with Léa Zéroil, who has tirelessly worked to bring to life the gallery’s new exhibition Là où naissent les mirages. Presented in three chapters like a contemporary tale, the spaces reveal creations born from collaborations with artisans, artists and designers. Objects and materials intertwine in sensitive narratives, eternal lovers, a frozen garden, elusive animals populate these worlds. Each piece appears like an apparition, suspended between dream and matter, and the exhibition becomes an invitation to marvel and to slowly cross through a mirage.

At Tapistelar, we are proud to have partnered in this journey, following Léa’s and Robins' creative direction and bringing our savoir faire into the magical world they have imagined, by designing and producing the Galerie Oasis x Tapistelar Collection made of three new rugs, Soleil, Treillage and Labyrinthe, which we will explore in depth below through her words.

From the beginning, you decided that rugs would play a central role in the exhibition. Why was that so important?

From the very beginning, we knew the floors would be fundamental, and that we wanted to work with Giovina and Tapistelar, drawn by the alignment of vision, the strength of their craftsmanship, and the creative possibilities that emerge from the hands of the artisans. The rugs became the foundation of the exhibition. At first, we imagined small-scale patterns, but then we realized that since each floor was such a strong element, it needed bold, confident graphic designs, lines, grids, and large compositions. This is how the three Rugs were born.

One of the key pieces is the green and silver rug called Treillage. Could you describe it?

Yes, the Treillage rug is part of what we call the winter garden. It’s a reinterpretation of the wooden trellises (the english word for Treillage, ndr) you often see in gardens or conservatories. The entire room is metallic: we designed metallic curtains, custom-printed with shimmering effects, all echoing the finishes in Tapistelar’s rugs: the gold, the brass, and the silver. That dialogue between materials gave birth to two complementary spaces.

Visitors first encounter the boudoir when entering the exhibition. What atmosphere did you want to create there?

The boudoir is all about gold and brass. The Soleil Rug there is inspired by the sun, its geometry recalls kinetic art, a bit like Vasarely, but with warm golden hues. It also carries something almost Byzantine. You get this impression of stepping into sunbeams, with gold contrasted against pink. The balance is striking, I’m very happy with the result!

Another striking piece is the labyrinth rug. How did you envision it?

The Labyrinthe Rug was placed in a space that feels dreamlike, almost like a reverie. We built a décor with animals in chiaroscuro to reinforce the atmosphere. The rug itself has a strong geometric form, but the motif isn’t overwhelming, it dresses the room fully, without saturating it. The inspiration was an enchanted forest, a way of bringing the outside in, while also recalling the labyrinths from childhood fairy tales.

The whole exhibition seems to weave between narrative, texture, and material. How did the rugs contribute to that story?

Absolutely. The exhibition draws on A Thousand and One Nights, while also presenting newly designed pieces with organic and animal-like forms. It’s a real dialogue between matter and imagination. The rugs add something very precious, but also natural, thanks to agave fibers and Tapistelar’s deep, nuanced colors. We deliberately worked on a large scale, so the rugs could inhabit the rooms with a strong presence, not just decorative objects, but essential parts of the story.

You can come and see the expo until the 14th of September, at Galerie Oasis, 6 Rue de Portfoin, 75003, Paris.

Exhibition Artists & Artisans:

Artisans du Faubourg, Marie Charmont, Robin Costes, Heaps & Woods, Caspal, Robin Abrial, Diane Diebold, Altin Studio, Studio Gats , Juliette Pénélope Pépin, Atelier Jonathan Cohen, Mathieu Vallet, Jean Brieuc Atelier, Guillaume Campredon, Chloé Lorong, Studio Ler, Jad Al Douaihy, Anne-Sophie Rio, Maya Souk, Casa Macia, Michiel Abdallah, Giada Chimetto, Stanislas de Baudus, Robin Roudier, Chloé Valorso, Pina Editions, Normandy Ceramic.

Exhibition Partners:

Tapistelar, La maison Nobilis, Adèle Collections, Galerie Astéria.

About Léa Zéroil: 

Corsica, Morocco, Italy, Léa Zéroil’s universe draws inspiration from Mediterranean countries and develops a radiant, sun-filled design. Through her creations, she brings to life a warm and singular art of living, enriched with deep, vibrant colors.

A graduate of the applied arts schools Duperré and Olivier de Serres, she began her career with India Mahdavi before joining Laura Gonzalez as a designer and artistic director of furniture collections. In 2020, she founded her own studio and embarked on numerous projects, designing interiors and furniture for hotels, restaurants, and boutiques. She also creates motifs for upholstery publishers and collaborates with luxury brands in developing their products. In parallel, she develops her own collection of objects and furniture.

Passionate about exceptional craftsmanship, Léa designs original pieces where the object becomes a lifelong companion, softened by rounded forms to shape a world of gentle, flowing shapes.