Dreaming the real Blue

Dreaming the real Blue

Mario D’souza
2018

This generous and luminous work is conceived by the artist as a gesture of welcome for the visitors of the panoramic terrace, this space out of time and suspended above the city.

The dominant colours of the fresco echo the history of indigo, used as a pigment on several continents: first yellow when leaving the dye baths, the fabrics gradually turn purple blue only when in contact with the air. Organic forms recall the natural world (plant pods, river delta or rivers, etc.) as well as some children’s games (hopscotch, labyrinths, elastic, etc.), making the link between man and his environment. They allow the joyful and luminous contamination of space.

Around, the yellow walls, curtains and chair make this space a familiar place where everyone can put their childhood memories as in the living room of a family member.


Shine a light

Shine a Light

Nathalie Talec
2018

This luminous and fantastical work welcomes visitors to the Foundation.

A unique creation resulting from the combination of several skills, Shine a Light is a monumental light sculpture inspired by ancient models of vases, objects that are both functional, ornamental and composite. Zoomorphic vases, consisting of a cylindrical basin and an end shaped like an animal or human head, real or fantastic, adorn this chandelier.

These precious objects, which bore witness to the taste of the dignitaries of antiquity for the pomp and luxury of dishes, had both a utilitarian and decorative function. The light sculpture is thus composed of an accumulation of forms and figures using both ceramic (present in the artist’s work for several years) and glass, a new material in the artist’s work.


A design-led investigation to map the transitions to come

A DESIGN-LED INVESTIGATION TO MAP THE TRANSITIONS TO COME

Since March, the Foundation has hosted a team of designers in Cognac tasked with initiating its first major project : the mapping local resources. Led by Olivier Peyricot*, the team is made up of designer-researchers Valentin Patis, Mathilde Pellé, Lola Carrel, and Ernesto Oroza.

Commissioned by the Foundation, they are conducting research and investigations with inhabitants of the Charentes and Charente-Maritime territories to identify and list local resources: natural and industrial, tangible and intangible. Whether it’s remarkable materials or neglected deposits, living techniques or forgotten know-how, the approach aims to create a problematized panoramic vision of the wealth of this territory.

This initiative aims to establish avenues for future work that can be taken up by future creators invited by the Foundation: selected for their approach combining creation and ecological transition, they will be invited to develop an experimentation in this local context.

The team of designers has met with multiple stakeholders (institutions, companies, individuals, professional networks) in order to create the most accurate image possible.
This approach will lead to an exhibition that will be open to the public from June 29th until December 2023 and will be accompanied by a program of conferences. Ultimately, this work will result in the design of an online tool listing all the research.

*Olivier Peyricot: researcher and designer. Previously Director of Research and Publications at the Cité du design and curator of the 10th St Etienne Design Biennale.

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