Biens venus !

In the sumptuous setting of the Château de Cadillac, the renowned work Le Carrosse by Xavier Veilhan will occupy the cour d'honneur. This monumental kinetic creation invites visitors on a journey through time and space. Inspired by the representation of a 17th-century carriage, its life-size forms are seemingly traversed by a wave, subtle trace of the vehicle’s journey up until the present day, with the horses frozen in full gallop.

The audio-video installation Ad infinitum by Tania Mouraud will be presented within the Tour de la Chaîne. This work follows up on a journey undertaken in 2007, during which the artist filmed grey whales within the lagoons of Baja California in Mexico. The immersive work resonates with the ocean-facing towers of La Rochelle’s old port.

Marulho (1991–97), a major work by Cildo Meireles, will find in the majestic refectory of the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey a unique space for its activation. This installation will offer a sensorial and poetic experience in resonance with the history, spirituality and maritime setting of Mont-Saint-Michel. This one-of-a-kind encounter will celebrate the Brazilian cultural season in France, by associating one of the greatest contemporary Brazilian artists with one of France’s most visited monuments.

Near Château d’Oiron, Les deux licornes (2011), a monumental installation of undried marl by Yona Friedman, will be traced in an adjacent field, inviting visitors to reflect upon the notion of utopia and the possibilities offered by art in the public space. In consonance with this outdoor installation, works on paper by the artist representing this same subject will compose a ‘cabinet of unicorns’ within the château. 

Occupying the Cour de l’Intendant, Barricade (2007) by Dominique Mathieu, comprising an accumulation of ordinary furniture, disrupts traffic through the courtyard to capture the visitor’s gaze, echoing simultaneously the building’s former utilisation (storage of royal furniture) and the tumultuous past of the Place de la Concorde. Carnet intime (2017) by Jems Koko Bi, placed at the foot of the grand staircase, also evokes the history of this site where the decree abolishing slavery was penned by Victor Schœlcher in 1848. These works question the memory and uses of the Hôtel de la Marine’s spaces.

A selection of furniture pieces integrating the notion of nature and notably in relation to animals will dialogue with the château’s extraordinary ensemble of tapestries, not to mention the site’s strange animal sculpture. These creations of contemporary design will interact with the historic monument’s architecture, exploring relations between tradition and modernity. Visitors will be able to admire works by Francesco Binfaré, Laura Couto Rosado, Pucci de Rossi, Jean-Philippe Gleizes, Meret Oppenheim, Studio GGSV and Radi Designers. 

Pierrefonds Castle will host the monumental and spectacular work Défilé by Wang Du, a Chinese artist living in France. This militaristically tinged installation echoes the past of this monument that long housed a collection of weapons and armour.

The work also questions the overabundance of images in our societies, its impact on our collective perception, and the processing (or manipulation) of information.