Column“What is art? Nature concentrated.” – Balzac
The relationship between nature and art can be inextricable, though rarely do we get to experience fully realized installations from multiple artists whose united approach is taking a specific space, working with it, and letting it unfold organically for a significant period of time. Such is the ambitious nature of a very special project nestled in the Loire Valley.
In this famous wine region of France, the Domaine de Chaumont-sur Loire resides as the first arts center devoted to the interplay between artistic creation and nature. Each year a formidable program of contemporary art awaits visitors. This year’s exhibition is on view until December 31, 2014, with a catalog coming out this spring, 2012.
Dozens of artists are participating, each bringing his or her unique blend of vision of the space, materials and dynamics to the project. The perfect example is that of Sarkis, who, continuing a series of 32 panes installed in 2011, has completed a set of 72 specially commissioned stained glass windows in the Château.
According to Sarkis:
Entitled Ailleurs, Ici, the ensemble makes up an imaginary museum in which the artist presents fundamental images of life and death, love and architecture, in a series of “mental windows” as fascinating as they are unexpected, playing with the memory of the place itself, the world’s memory, and the artist’s own memory.
The poetic encounters continue with Patrick Dougherty’s works of plant architecture, Michel Blazy’s foam flowers and sorghum brooms, Shigeko Hirakawa’s Tree of Photosynthesis and Samuel Rousseau’s eternal chestnut tree, L’Arbre et son Ombre (The Tree and its Shadow). Besides new rooms and 500 new square metres of exhibition galleries, the Domaine is also adding 10 hectares to its grounds, with their layout entrusted to the great landscape architect Louis Benech.
The project is extraordinary. If you find yourself in this renowned area of France before the end of 2014, the Domaine de Chaumont-sur Loire’s, Arts & Nature installation should be at the top of your must-see list.
Refer to Domaine de Chaumont-sur Loire’s site for additional images and information on each of the artists involved.
Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.
