In-Studio Team
CHRISTIAN DUVERNOIS / PRESIDENT
Born in Paris, Christian Duvernois has distinguished himself as a landscape designer, historian, lecturer and gallery owner. Since 2001, Christian has operated a landscape design firm specializing in high-end residential, commercial, institutional, ecological and urban gardens, while remaining active as a dealer in works of art for both landscape and interior use. He has also been instrumental in the grant acquisition and design of community garden sites and teaching landscapes within and outside of New York. Leveraging his platform further, Christian played a pivotal role in establishing an annually recurring student exchange program between the USA and France for the study of the Potager du Roi (King’s Kitchen Garden) in Versailles. A noted lecturer on European classical gardens, Christian is the author of a book on the Anglo-Chinese gardens in the second half of the 18th century, entitled The Last Garden of Versailles: Marie-Antoinette at Trianon (Rizzoli, 2008). In 2010, the Horticultural Society of New York honored Christian for his “outstanding contribution to landscape design.” He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the French Heritage Society and Les Amis de Versailles (Friends of Versailles).
JON FOUSKARIS / DESIGN DIRECTOR
Design director, Jon Fouskaris, is responsible for overseeing landscape design, construction documentation, project management and implementation for the firm’s wide spectrum of projects ranging from urban green roofs to multi-acre landscapes. Jon has played an influential role in expanding the company’s portfolio of sustainable site work, highlighted by the successful execution of a 7,000-sq. ft. green roof and deck to feature an exclusively native plant palette of over 50 indigenous species and be the first residential development in the USA to utilize hardwood stock from the rainforest-supportive Uaxactún Community Forest program in Guatemala. Since his onboarding in 2015, Jon has become increasingly involved in all facets of CDL/S operations. Prior to joining CDL/S, Jon worked as part of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s multi-disciplinary exhibition team, where he was involved directly in the landscape design of public access spaces, children’s play areas, habitat-immersive animal exhibits, and green infrastructure projects for the Bronx Zoo and associated facilities. Earlier he served in the planning division of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and was a contributing researcher, copywriter and photographer for the AIA Guide to New York City, 5th Ed. (Oxford, 2010). Jon holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from SUNY ESF and a Master of Landscape Architecture from CCNY, where he was awarded an ASLA Merit Award for his work. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
ASHLEIGH BANCEL / LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Ashleigh Bancel, Landscape Designer, utilizes her passion for art and the environment to shape landscape works of aesthetic, ethical, and functional beauty. Working at all stages in the design process from initial conception to bid sets, Ashleigh’s blend of hand drawing and digital representations help to translate design ideas and transform the client’s vision into reality. As a graduate of the University of Connecticut for a Bachelor’s of Science in Landscape Architecture, Ashleigh received the CT ASLA Merit Award, before moving on to pursue her Master’s in Landscape Architecture from City College of New York, where she was awarded the Rachel Carson Prize for outstanding achievement in ecological and urban design. Her final thesis project, “Building Wasteland: Terraforming and Carbon Capture in the Florida Everglades,” was selected as one of the transformative projects exhibited at the 2018 International Biennial of Landscape Architecture in Barcelona, Spain. Complementing her urban portfolio is experience in suburban residential design and equestrian planning, including a position on the board of the Bedford Riding Lanes Association, a non-profit organization overseeing a 100-plus-mile-long trail system and historic preserve in Bedford, NY. Ashleigh’s unique knowledge of both the urban and rural landscape allows her to understand projects at a variety of scales and carry out impactful design solutions at all levels.
LUZ WALLACE / LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Luz Wallace comes to CDL/S with a landscape and architectural background spanning across residential, commercial and hospitality sectors. While earning her Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture with a minor in Sustainability from Arizona State University, she collaborated with the studio [eCV]Opera Publica to enter several international competitions including the Varna International Library Competition, Governor’s Island City of Dreams Competition and the Venice Biennale Argentina Pavilion Competition, in which her team placed as semi-finalist in 2015. Following her graduation in 2016, Luz worked as a designer at the architecture firm ArcOne Associates in Phoenix, Arizona, successfully integrating her knowledge in sustainable landscapes and xeriscaping to urban, architectural projects. Her passion lies in innovation within the nexus of ecosystems and infrastructure, water usage and conservation, and sensory spaces within the urban environment. Furthermore, her talent in the arts such as drawings and ceramics lead to her work being on display in the Sedona Fine Art Gallery in 2012. Originally hailing from Puerto Rico, Luz derived her love of landscape from the rich, vibrant colors of the Caribbean, and still draws inspiration from the island’s biodiverse tropical forests and historic Spanish architecture.
ISABELLE LEROY-JAY LEMAISTRE / CURATORIAL ADVISOR
Isabelle Leroy-Jay Lemaistre Is curatorial advisor of Christian Duvernois Landscape/Studio. Formerly curator at the Sculpture Department and head of 19th century sculpture at the Louvre Museum, Lemaistre will assist in the conceptual and logistical aspects of the gallery. Outside of France, Leroy-Jay Lemaistre directed the long partnership between the Louvre and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta between 2003 and 2010, where she directed the exhibition The Louvre and the Masterpiece for the Louvre. She also conceptualized and directed the exhibition Napoleon and the Louvre, which she presented at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 2008 and readapted for the State Historical Museum in Moscow in 2010. In 2012, she presented a multidisciplinary exhibition of the Louvre on the topic of mythology in the Western world at the National Palace Museum in Taipei and at the Seoul Art Center. She has been the conservateur general honoraire du patrimoine (senior heritage curator emeritus) since 2013 and continues to serve as Professor of the History of the Techniques of Sculpture at the École du Louvre in Paris.