until July 1st 2011
Jannis Kounellis
Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire
Jannis Kounellis is a guest artist at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire for a three-year period beginning July 1st 2008. He has been commissioned by the Centre Region to produce works in nine rooms which were previously closed to the public. 137 bronze bells hang from 137 poplar beams reaching from floor to ceiling, in the basement kitchens and from the Chateau’s south wing to the Tour d’Amboise. Jannis Kounellis has created another monumental work using so-called “poor” materials, as befits his stature as a leading exponent of Arte Povera, the artistic movement founded in 1967 in opposition to consumer society.
from July 1st 2008 (permanent installation)
Erik Samakh
In the grounds of the Château
Erik Samakh has created a sound and light installation of "flute-players" and “fireflies" in the grounds of the Château. Solar flutes suspended from the taller trees use solar energy to produce intriguing sounds, while 300 Fireflies, also powered by solar energy, converse with the stars as they emit a sparkling green light at nightfall. These Fireflies, initially suspended from the tips of bamboo stems in the meadow in front of the Château, will be progressively moved and hung from trees in the grounds of the Domain, making this a changing and nomadic work. In the riding-arena at the stables, he has installed a Water Mirror which reflects the walls of the former kiln, part of the disused eighteenth-century glass and pottery factory where the arena now stands. By playing with our perceptions, Erik Samakh reveals nature’s secret beauty and hidden music without compromising his respect for the environment.
As part of the "Magic Nights" festival, Fireflies will be visible on October 31st and November 1st between 6pm and 10.30pm.
July 1st 2008 - 2010
Victoria Klotz
In the grounds of the Château
Victoria Klotz revives the fanciful spirit of Princess de Broglie, who lived at Chaumont from 1875 to the late 1930s. The princess was particularly fond of her animals, which included dogs, monkeys and even an elephant! Working in the pet cemetery at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, the artist has built a tomb for the elephant, which was a gift to the princess from the Maharajah of Kapurthala. Ingeniously incorporated into the original cemetery, the gravestone bears a photograph of the late elephant, Miss Pundgi. A funeral chapel of antiqued wood has been installed at the entrance to the cemetery's little wood. Inside, visitors can watch The Flying Hunt, a film that depicts a four-second revolution inside the Orion nebula, through which a hunting dog floats. Meanwhile, a sound installation near the cemetery broadcasts the baying of a pack of hounds.
from July 1st 2008
Rainer Gross
In the grounds of the Château
Rainer Gross has created two sculptures in blackened wood, one horizontal and the other vertical. Both were inspired by the roofs of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire. One of the sculptures, which is suspended from hundred-year-old trees in the Château's grounds, portrays an upside-down version of the castle keep. The other lies under one of the cedars and can be seen from the river Loire, which in turn can be viewed through an opening in the sculpture. These works seem to take root in the very landscape from which their materials were sourced. Rainer Gross depicts the ambiguity of Man within Nature and the paradox of being both a product of Nature and yet independent from it.
from July 1st 2008 (permanent installation)
Erik Samakh
In the grounds of the Château
Erik Samakh has created a sound and light installation of "flute-players" and “fireflies" in the grounds of the Château. Solar flutes suspended from the taller trees use solar energy to produce intriguing sounds, while 300 Fireflies, also powered by solar energy, converse with the stars as they emit a sparkling green light at nightfall. These Fireflies, initially suspended from the tips of bamboo stems in the meadow in front of the Château, will be progressively moved and hung from trees in the grounds of the Domain, making this a changing and nomadic work. In the riding-arena at the stables, he has installed a Water Mirror which reflects the walls of the former kiln, part of the disused eighteenth-century glass and pottery factory where the arena now stands. By playing with our perceptions, Erik Samakh reveals nature’s secret beauty and hidden music without compromising his respect for the environment.
As part of the "Magic Nights" festival, Fireflies will be visible on October 31st and November 1st between 6pm and 10.30pm.
July 1st 2008 - 2010
Victoria Klotz
In the grounds of the Château
Victoria Klotz revives the fanciful spirit of Princess de Broglie, who lived at Chaumont from 1875 to the late 1930s. The princess was particularly fond of her animals, which included dogs, monkeys and even an elephant! Working in the pet cemetery at the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, the artist has built a tomb for the elephant, which was a gift to the princess from the Maharajah of Kapurthala. Ingeniously incorporated into the original cemetery, the gravestone bears a photograph of the late elephant, Miss Pundgi. A funeral chapel of antiqued wood has been installed at the entrance to the cemetery's little wood. Inside, visitors can watch The Flying Hunt, a film that depicts a four-second revolution inside the Orion nebula, through which a hunting dog floats. Meanwhile, a sound installation near the cemetery broadcasts the baying of a pack of hounds.
from July 1st 2008
Rainer Gross
In the grounds of the Château
Rainer Gross has created two sculptures in blackened wood, one horizontal and the other vertical. Both were inspired by the roofs of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire. One of the sculptures, which is suspended from hundred-year-old trees in the Château's grounds, portrays an upside-down version of the castle keep. The other lies under one of the cedars and can be seen from the river Loire, which in turn can be viewed through an opening in the sculpture. These works seem to take root in the very landscape from which their materials were sourced. Rainer Gross depicts the ambiguity of Man within Nature and the paradox of being both a product of Nature and yet independent from it.
