Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire’s eighth art season is playing host to an array of prominent artists. For the historical park, Andy Goldsworthy (one of the main actors on the Land Art scene) has designed an altogether unique showpiece where the vegetation interacts with the stones of an unexpected “cairn” that the fresh shoots of a chopped down plane tree will eventually embrace. 2016 will also mark the return to Chaumont-sur-Loire of Italian artist Giuseppe Penone, who has fashioned a new bronze sculpture for the Domaine.
El Anatsui, winner of the Golden Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale, has also designed a brand new exhibit for the Historical Park, inspired by the nearby surroundings of Chaumont-sur-Loire, as a counterpoint to the extraordinary shimmering gold and silver sculpture that he has already set up in the Hayloft Gallery.
Marc Couturier, in characteristic poetic style, will give glimpses of his ethereal dreamland, finely spun from glass, greenery and mirrors, both in the Château and Farmyard, whose architecture and still water provided inspiration for him. The artist will transform the space around with his star-studded Japanese laurels, his gold strips, his translucent stained-glass windows and his “skyquakes”, on the borderline of the visible and invisible.
Two highly acclaimed artists from Asia will be bringing a different element into play: fire. Cai Guo-Qiang from China will be exhibiting his spectacular coloured powder explosions and smoke-blackened chinaware in the lower Hayloft galleries, while Lee Bae from South Korea will be unveiling his powerful charred wood paintings and sculptures in the Stables Indoor Ring. Meanwhile, Chinese sculptor Wang Keping will be showcasing a remarkable collection of works in the Bee Barn, and Goualoup Park will see a new piece by Moroccan artist Yamou come to life.
Photography and video will also get a look-in with pictures by Andy Goldsworthy and Jean-Baptiste Huynh, the “gardens” by Brazilian artist Luzia Simons, the changing landscapes by Italian artist Davide Quayola and the “clouds” by Korean artist Han Sungpil.
In the same way as Gabriel Orozco’s “phantom flowers”, Sarkis’ stained-glass windows, Jannis Kounellis’ forest of beams and bells and the range of other installations gracing the parkland, these new commissions enhance the Domaine and enrich its collections year on year, inviting visitors on a poetic and sensory discovery of the artworks which strike a chord with the atmosphere that reigns there.
