Art to the Ave is Here! Comptoir de Cotonniers Features Work of André Lanoux

Thursday is shaping up to be the perfect day for the opening festivities of Art to the Ave 2015. At Comptoir des Cotonniers, Dee Shea and Nicole Robert were busy setting up displays of the paintings of André Lanoux, a Greenwich artist.

Comptoir Des Cotonniers is a French company. The Greenwich Avenue location opened five years ago.

“The whole DNA of the store is ‘mother-daughter,'” said Dee Shea, store manager. “Mother and daughter can both shop here. It is timeless, affordable luxury that is chic.”

Lanoux, whose paintings are equally beautiful on greeting cards as they are on 11×17, had a career in textiles in Manhattan before moving to Louisiana some years ago. Unfortunately, in less than a year after moving, Hurricane Katrina wiped out his lifetime of paintings and digital files, as well as washing him through the currents. After three days in the convention center where his low point came when dozing off and waking up to find his prescription eyeglasses stolen from his face, he began a journey that would take him eventually to Greenwich.

André Lanoux delivered his artwork to Comptoir des Cotonniers at 271 Greenwich Avenue on Thursday morning, in time for the kick-off celebration on Thurday night.

Every year it seems the artwork of Mr. Lanoux is selected to be featured in a different Greenwich Avenue business, ranging from Sunglasses Hut, to the then Privet House, to Pinky, Gingerman, among others.

overall the festivities run 5:30-8:00, though the Comptoir Des cottonniers party ends at 7:00pm.

The evening launches a truly spectacular show. Musicians and street performers fill the street entertaining strollers. Most stores host receptions for the hundreds of visitors who attend to preview the work of over 120 artists. The art selected by the retailers remains in place through Memorial Day, so there is ample time for viewers to experience the “gallery” that downtown Greenwich becomes.

All the art on display is for sale, and a 30% tax deduction for the purchaser benefits Greenwich Arts Council. A complete Map/Guide is published listing all participants, so that individual shops, artists and locations are easy to locate. The displays run May 7 – 29, 2015

Stop by and check out the beautiful clothing at Comptoir Des Cotonniers Thursday night from 5:30pm to 7:00pm for a glass of champagne and say hello to Lanoux, or find his art on Etsy.

Comptoir Des Cotonniers is located at 271 Greenwich Ave. Tel. (203) 869-0640