Contemporary Art in Ancient Buildings

In July and August, to coincide with the Arles photographic show , Les Rencontres and the Avignon Theatre Festival, we had Ap’Art Festival; a contemporary art festival which took place in the towns and villages of Les Alpilles (little Alps).  Over the two months of the festival, from the 7th July to the 17th August, there were exhibitions in many different and varied locations which included a disused quarry in the limestone hills of Les Baux, a medieval chapel, an old convent,  the gardens of hotels and grand houses around St Remy, vineyards and restaurants and castles stretching from Tarascon to Eygaliers to Mouriès.  The beautiful countryside and ancient buildings of the area provided a natural back drop to the work of the international Artists taking part.

For the opening evening in our town of Tarascon,  Jean Michel Othoniel high tailed it down from his first retrospective at the Centre Pompidou to show his delicate glass sculptures, Les Cœurs Flottants, floating hearts, at the Château Royal de Provence.  Besides being introduced to his work, his show also gave everyone the opportunity to wander about the magnificent castle built between 1409 and 1480 in Tarascon by Le bon roi René, Good King René and to see the view of the town from the ramparts.

On another night, opposite our house in the Hotel D’Aiminy, which now houses the headquarters of Souleiado and their museum of Provençal fabrics, Noël Pasquier painted on long plastic sheets to the accompaniment of music and Frank Turpin was on hand to paint people’s shoes gold.

Noël Pasquier’s work has since been moved to Le Cloître des Cordeliers, and hangs down into the courtyard of the cloisters which dates back to medieval times when  it was a convent for The Franciscan Brothers.

Also showing at Les Cordeliers are the paintings of Jean Marc Cerino who paints with wax on a white background, creating a ghost-like image evoking the lives of the brothers perhaps, who once walked through these cloisters.

On the night of the Souleiado event, we participated by having Portes Ouvertes (open door) and showing work by The Artist from his recent trip to Australia in our front room, his studio.

Our guests snacked and drank and mingled with the Souleaido guests over the road, it was like one big party!  One of our guests suggested we might get our dog Ralph sprayed gold by Frank Turpin, but The Artist wasn’t having any of it, pointing out that a dog is not a toy!

If you happen to be in the area, you can still catch the show at the Cordeliers which has been extended until the 31st August.