Colas Group - Hervé Le Bouc
The Colas Foundation, established almost thirty years ago, today brings together nearly four-hundred paintings commissioned on the theme of the company’s core business: the road. Hervé Le Bouc, chairman of the Colas Group, talks to L’Officiel Art about the many facets of this pioneering collection and its commitment to cultural players.
L’OFFICIEL ART: Since its creation in 1991, the Colas Foundation has provided support for contemporary painting. What motivated the world leader in transport infrastructure to begin a commitment to art?
HERVÉ LE BOUC: When I was appointed chairman and CEO of Colas in 2007, I decided to continue on the path of my predecessor, Alain Dupont, the founder of the Colas Foundation. Innovation is deeply embedded in the identity of the Colas Group and our mission is to imagine and build the responsible mobility of the future. In their own way, contemporary artists question the world and its future. They enlighten us and help to amplify our perspective and the acuity of our vision. Our foundation also has an internal goal: to sensitize all group employees – sixty-thousand people in more than fifty countries on five continents – to this universal cultural activity. The paintings in the collection are a bridge between identities and vastly different cultures, in harmony with the Colas Group, which has a strong human dimension to which I am very attached. Art is a vital factor in everyone’s well-being, so integrating it into our spaces was a natural step in our corporate culture.
You commission paintings on the theme of the road: each year a jury of art-world specialists and Colas Group collaborators select a dozen projects out of some two-hundred applications. You have chosen not to use any ranking for the winning artists. Given the diversity of works, the chosen theme does not seem restrictive, even ensuring the consistency of the whole ensemble.
Each year, the foundation launches a call for applications. The choice of a mixed jury, made up of professionals from the art world as well as our collaborators, allows us to rely on an external expertise that reinforces the value of our choices, all the while being attentive to the sensitivity of the collaborators who are going to live with those particular works. This jury selects a dozen winning artists of different nationalities. Each laureate then receives a commission for a painting on the theme of the road, Colas’s historic profession. Apart from this theme, which reinforces the link between the foundation and the company, all freedom of expression is left entirely to the artists. All the “roads of the imagination” painted for the foundation since its creation are unique, which is why we decided not to make use of a ranking, with one work taking precedence over another. It is the great diversity of visions that interests us.
Today, the Colas collection comprises more than 360 paintings, by artists of some forty nationalities, hanging in the group’s work and reception areas in France and abroad. What initiatives have allowed employees to familiarize themselves with the works?
Each year, a private view of the new paintings allows those who work at the headquarters to meet the artists, to talk to them about their work, their practice, and the meaning they have given to the notion of the road. For those who can’t be present at this event, we have a virtual gallery on our website showing each painting in the collection, accompanied by information about the artist and the work, and a video of the artist talking about their concept. We have also run conferences – featuring art critics [such as Elisabeth Couturier], contemporary art news, and a decoding of the high points [with Henri-François Debailleux] – as well as invitations to the directors of cultural institutions [such as Laurent Le Bon, director of the Musée Picasso, Paris]. Our 2019 laureates, unveiled in March, establish a beautiful and broad cartography of creation: Cécile Bart, Stéphane Dafflon, Blaise Drummond, Erró, Philippe Favier, Gregory Forstner, Minjung Kim, Tingyi Lee, Lucie Picandet, and Florian and Michael Quistrebert. Before joining the collection, their works will be exhibited in November at the foundation’s headquarters in Paris.
What has the experience of integrating art into the company taught you as a manager?
Very simply, I like that which is beautiful to see or to hear, that which is moving. Whether it’s painting, architecture, photography, music or dance, art brings beauty and emotion. It is this relationship to art that I want to share within the company, as well as pride in the work accomplished within the collection, whose diversity and richness reflect the quality of our employees.
What impact do you think the collection has on the image of the company?
It is the image of a mature company that knows and is perfectly in control of its identity, but that goes further by reflecting on its philosophy and on the interactions it can initiate with society, including supporting contemporary creation. This collection makes one proud to belong to such an organization – it is the sign of a human, creative and innovative company that enriches our brand as an employer. The foundation was a pioneer in terms of commitment to contemporary art. In more than twenty-five years, we have awarded prizes to some 360 artists from all regions of the world; each year we receive more than two
hundred applications. We consider this success as a pledge of recognition that encourages us to continue.
The collection is on show in the various group headquarters and also elsewhere, via loans for exhibitions or events. And it was brought to life in The Road of Dreams, a variety show created by Jean-Michel Ribes at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris to celebrate twenty-five years of the Colas Foundation. These initiatives provide the collection with visibility, but also make available the works of the artists.
Our aim is to help young artists prosper, to further their creativity, to increase their visibility. That’s why we set up public events around the collection, like those held at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris or at the Meymac Center for Contemporary Art. We are committed to spreading the word about artists on our Instagram account [instagram.com/groupe_colas], and to amplify their visibility we reproduce the laureates’ works on tarpaulins on certain building sites.
In 2018, the foundation embarked on a new chapter, with the successful launch of an urban art program at the Colas Group’s production and construction sites. What might be the next step?
These urban art projects bring new life to a territory, with young talents creating a bond in the city and reinventing codes. Artistic interventions on the walls of the Servant factory in Villeneuve-lès-Béziers (by Mathias Brez) and on various construction sites were met with great success. We want to continue our policy of partnerships for the realization of painted murals in the heart of the city. The next step is planned for October at the Teenage Kicks biennale of urban art in Rennes, with the creation of a mural by Helen Bur.
In addition to the Colas Foundation collection and the urban art projects, the group is pursuing an active policy of sponsorship in music and dance, and also in humanitarian projects. What triggered your involvement in these areas and how do these projects fit together?
We have developed another mode of artistic sponsorship, Colas en Scène, for music and dance. This was why, for example, we supported Gautier Capuçon [the world-renowned cellist] when he was just starting out, and why for a decade we supported the Akram Khan dance company, which today enjoys international fame. We have also created a Colas Young Talent Scholarship for virtuoso musicians embarking on an international career. Moreover, as part of our philanthropic project Colas Life, we have supported educational projects in several countries.
The governance of Colas has recently evolved, with the appointment of a new CEO, Frédéric Gardès. Will the sponsorship policy and the content of the projects of the collection evolve?
It will be up to Frédéric Gardès to decide. The Colas Foundation’s 2019 laureates are: Cécile Bart, Stéphane Dafflon, Blaise Drummond, Erró, Philippe Favier, Gregory Forstner, Minjung Kim, Tingyi Lee, Lucie Picandet, and Florian and Michael Quistrebert. Applications to the 2020 edition are being accepted until November 4, 2019. Information can be found at colas.com The 2020 jury includes: Alain Bublex, artist; Ann Hindry, art historian and curator of the Renault collection; Laurent Le Bon, director of the Musée national Picasso in Paris; Anaël Pigeat, editor-at-large of The Art Newspaper; and Fabien Simode, editorin-chief of L’OEil magazine.