Carmignac Foundation, Porquerolles, France
Begun in the summer of 2018 on the island of Porquerolles, the Fondation Carmignac has a contemporary art collection of three hundred works, while the Foundation also sponsors an annual photojournalism prize. Curated by Chiara Parisi, “La Source” is its second exhibition, running until November 3. It brings together a selection of seventy works. Interview with Parisi.
On the origins of the project.
The invitation was extended to me to explore the collection that Edouard Carmignac began to assemble forty-odd years ago with a particular penchant for American art, especially the work of John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha, both who interest me a lot. This allowed me to identify through lines for the exhibition and, in a very intuitive manner, to form one part of the exhibition from works that are often abstract expressionism (Gerhard Richter, Theaster Gates, Susan Rothenberg, and others), and to dedicate another part to the female body (Egon Schiele, Roy Lichtenstein, Thomas Ruff, and others). We concentrated on painting, and, with our first ideas in mind, we began to develop the exhibition through loans as well as through commissions, posing the question to artists, “What is the source?” Based upon their responses, we developed a plan to place in the bottom of the building the most highly curated section, and to consecrate the top portion of the building to works by Sarah Lucas.
About the artists commissioned to make works for the exhibition.
Fabrice Hyber, Bertrand Lavier, Koo Jeong A with an installation piece in the patio, Micol Assaël with a work presented on the steps of the escalator, and Maurizio Cattelan who made a large self-portrait representing himself with works coming from his own mind, which perfectly illustrates the idea of the source.
About the theme of the exhibition.
The theme of the source defines itself naturally. I think that the Foundation invited me as much for my love of landscape. It’s true that when you come here, to the Foundation, the power of the landscape is immense, and the building is folded into it quite harmoniously. In the history of art, one of the most important subjects is the source, a theme that is explored quite commonly—“source” in its largest possible meaning. For each of us, the word resonates in a different way, but in every case, it guides us to interior spaces. This idea, these fantasies, this logic carries throughout the exhibition and guided the choice of artists.
About the layout of the exhibition.
In the lower rooms, we took out walls so as to allow a more open space, which allows strong ties to form. I learned more about artists that I had previously hardly known, such as Günter Uecker, a German artist from group ZERO. The Foundation also owns a wonderful collection of drawings; its first acquisition was a drawing of Max Ernst. The difficulty is, of course, to form a dialogue among the various works. So we put together Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and Albert Oehlen, although it’s not necessary to know that Oehlen was Polke’s student. A dialogue forms through opposition, through friction, and not necessarily through solidarity. So the work of Elmgreen & Dragset—on loan—speaks differently about social engagement than work by Theaster Gates. We reached out to all of the artists, or in the case of artists like Roy Lichtenstein, through their estates. We didn’t put things together in isolation but rather together. It’s a group exhibition, with the exception of Sarah Lucas, upon whose work the entire show was based. I had never worked with her before, and this first opportunity was truly exciting.
Artists Shown:
Francis Alÿs. El Anatsui. Micol Assaël. John Baldessari. Rosa Barba. Miquel Barceló. Valérie Belin. Forrest Bess. Olaf Breuning. Louis Cane. Rosemarie Castoro. Maurizio Cattelan. George Condo. Gino De Dominicis. Elmgreen & Dragset. Max Ernst. Liam Everett. Cyprien Gaillard. Theaster Gates. Rebecca Horn. R.B. Kitaj. Pierre Klossowski. Koo Jeong A. David Horvitz. Fabrice Hyber. Bertrand Lavier. Roy Lichtenstein. Sarah Lucas. Cildo Meireles. Annette Messager. Bruce Nauman. Albert Oehlen. Sigmar Polke. Martial Raysse. Gerhard Richter. Susan Rothenberg. Sterling Ruby. Thomas Ruff. Ed Ruscha. Egon Schiele. Soundwalk Collective. Günther Uecker. De Wain Valentine.
From the Permanent Collection:
Miquel Barceló. Jean Denant. Tom Friedman. Jeppe Hein. Wang Keping. Gonzalo Lebrija. Tony Matelli. Janaina Mello Landini. Bruce Nauman. Nils-Udo. Jaume Plensa. Ugo Rondinone. Ed Ruscha. Tom Sachs. Stéphane Thidet. Vhils.
“La Source,” Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles, France, till November 3.