Exhibition: The Feeling of Nature
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) was the first painter to focus not on landscape, but on Nature. He did so with a lyricism that became increasingly sensitive throughout his career. Poussin set a precedent, and something of this “feeling for Nature” was passed on to subsequent generations, from Gaspard Dughet to Claude-Joseph Vernet. But what about today? At a time when ecological anxiety dominates our societies, are there still artists who depict nature with poetry? We would like to show that there are, by juxtaposing classical paintings with all kinds of contemporary works—sculptures, installations, photographs, videos, films, paintings, and drawings—on each floor of the Villa Paloma. If these juxtapositions favor, without exception, a Franco-Italian dialogue, it is in homage to Poussin, who, although French, spent most of his career in Rome.
The exhibition has six sections: storms and nights; forests and gardens; seascapes and waterfalls; deserts and volcanoes; hills and mountains; flowers and butterflies. These are all perspectives on what were already known in ancient times as miracula naturae, or wonders of nature.
Featured artists: Roger Ackling, Robert Barry, Anne-Lise Broyer, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Thomas Demand, Gustave Doré, Gaspard Dughet, Latifa Echakhch, Tim Eitel, Ed van der Elsken, Ilse and Pierre Garnier, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Suzanne Husky, Mimmo Jodice, Pierre Joseph, Ange Leccia, Pierre Lesieur, Charles de Meaux, Fausto Melotti, Mario Merz, Sarah Moon, Giulio Paolini, Claudio Parmiggiani, Bruno Pélassy, Giuseppe Penone, Nicolas Poussin, Anting Qiu, Walter Robinson, Torbjørn Rødland, Anne Laure Sacriste, Christophe Sarlin, Pierre Thoretton, Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, Joseph Vernet, Marine Wallon...
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by Humboldt Editions.
Commissaire : Guillaume de Sardes
Scénographe: Christophe Martin
