Résidence Ackerman + Fontevraud La Scène

Created in 2014, the Résidence Ackerman + Fontevraud La Scène was born from the desire to combine the support to artistic creation led by House Ackerman, known worldwide for its bubbly wines, and the expertise of Fontevraud La Scène, which has already welcomed famous artists like Philippe Cognée and François Morellet to the Abbey.

The main objective of the Résidence is the promotion of new artists that can reinvent non-standard spaces. As such, the Résidence launches every year a call for projects with which the laureate will have the chance to be presented in the cellars of House Ackerman, for a total of three years, as well as in the Abbey.

More information on the website: www.ackerman-fontevraud.com

The judges' panel that elects the laureate of the Résidence consists of three professionals that bring a specific sensibility along with their expertise: exposition coordination, scenography and critique.
▪ Matthias Courtet, in charge of the School of Art and commissioner of the exposition in the Chapel of the Calvairiennes in Mayenne
▪ Christophe Theilmann, architect and scenographer, co-creator of multiple productions of the Machines from the Île de Nantes
▪ Marc Lenot, art history researcher and critic, author of the blog Lunettes Rouges, supported and housed by Le Monde

The 2015 laureate of the Résidence, Julien Salaud lives and works in Orleans. This artist whose passion lies in the ties, forces and symbols that connect man and nature, composes a magical bestiary. According to him, each of his works offers a different point of view on what could be an animal, that of the Cartesian or the geneticist, of the predator or the prey, of the sorcerer or the mystic.

Marked by offset poetry, his works offer a different point of view on what could be an animal, that of the Cartesian or the geneticist, of the predator or the prey, of the sorcerer or the mystic." Being the big reveal of Salon de Montrouge in 2010, he showed his work in the Palace of Tokyo, as well as in Chambord, Singapore, Seoul and Madrid during the same year.

Descend into the abbey's cellars, near the Roman kitchens, to admire a creation composed of nails and white wires. A work of the visual artist Julien Salaud - who has already carried out exhibitions in the Chapel of the Calvairiennes - Mayenne, the Palace of Tokyo, the museum of Quai Branly, as well as the Museum of Hunting and Nature in Paris -, the lines of The Owl Crypt form delicate tapestries that revisit the great mysteries of religious paintings.

Combining both the sacred and the profane, the work reinterprets the great motifs of the Passion of Christ, in an exhibition inside the chapter house of the Royal Abbey. Julien Salaud invites us to lose ourselves in this riddle of images where the wire gives the darkness a new aspect.

Available for viewing until May 31st 2016.

Created together with The Owl Crypt, the exhibition "The Celestial River" by Julien Salaud is the product of the partnership between House Ackerman and Fontevraud La Scène, both instigators of one school of artists with the objective of creating original works in non-standard spaces.

Set up in the cellars of House Ackerman, in Saint-Hilaire Saint-Florent (community of Saumur), the work was completely envisioned for this unique and original space. A monumental creation, composed with white wires illuminated by a soft bluish light, which calls out to a magical bestiary that completely reinvents the space it occupies.

Available for viewing until December 31st 2017.

Primé en 2016, l'artiste sculpteur Vincent Mauger est souvent qualifié de « génie du volume ». Tour à tour architecte, menuisier, maçon, il sculpte des volumes qui modifient profondément notre compréhension du lieu qu’il investit. Conçues à partir d'objets courants, ses œuvres laissent pourtant libre cours à l’imagination de chacun. Vincent Mauger a été notamment exposé en 2010 au Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris et au Palais de Tokyo, lors de l’exposition "Dynasty".

Présentée dans les caves de la Maison Ackerman depuis le 22 avril 2016, l'œuvre "Monument synthétique" est composée d'une multitude de cagettes de plastique découpées et assemblées selon un ordre prédéterminé. Le résultat donne une forme à la fois tout en rondeur et en rugosité, la lumière pénétrant différemment la surface selon l'angle par lequel l'œuvre est observée. Un sentiment d'immensité imprègne également le visiteur, dû au cadre immense des caves de la Maison Ackerman.

Installée à l'entrée de Fontevraud L'Hôtel, vous ne raterez pas cette sculpture placée à même le coin de pelouse faisant face au potager floral. L'œuvre repose sur le même principe que son aînée "Monument synthétique".