With spring in the air, exhibitions are popping up and cultural life is blossoming all over France! So, I’m taking a little break from Mademoiselle Bon Plan to share my latest discoveries with you. How about starting with a bit of sunshine and color? First, I’ll take you to Aubagne, in the South, to discover the exhibition by sculptor Yom de Saint Phalle.
We will then linger in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Lamartine’s death this year. Between local and national history, we will visit the lovely Ursulines Museum in Mâcon, the poet’s family home in Milly-Lamartine, and the Château de Pierreclos.
Finally, we will end our journey with an experience that is as radical as it is zen: the exhibition by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Villeurbanne.
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Yom de Saint Phalle in the museums of Aubagne
An unexpected favorite: discovering this friendly, modest artist with a unique journey and a rather joyful body of work. Before becoming a sculptor, Yom spent six years in the Foreign Legion, which he left following a serious accident. Furthermore, he worked early on with Niki de Saint Phalle, who happens to be his aunt! These two aspects of his life have left their mark on his work.
His sculptures are geometric and colorful, mostly made of metal. They show a focus on negative space that isn’t merely decorative. By removing material rather than adding to it, Yom invites us to dig deeper and look beyond appearances.
Having traveled extensively and worked in countries suffering greatly, he also advocates for tolerance. However, there is nothing like “letting yourself be surprised by his sculptures” (in his own words), without overthinking it!
The color? It changes according to the location. It is the color of the rainbow, of the light prism, and also that of emergency workers… Radiant, it is the result of a dozen superimposed layers, applied to the metal or teak.
Humor and spirituality also have their place with the sculptor. Like this fly that accidentally stuck itself in a small corner freshly painted of Purple Heart, which the artist finally left there!
Yom de Saint Phalle Exhibition, until June 15, 2019
Centre d’art contemporain Les Pénitents Noirs
Les Aires, chemin de Saint-Michel, 13400 Aubagne
Free access Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
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Second Yom de Saint Phalle exhibition, until September 22, 2019
Chemin de la Thuilière, 13400 Aubagne
Free admission Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
For guided tour reservations and workshops, call 04 42 18 13 27
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The Ursulines Museum in Mâcon
This very lovely museum is housed in the former Ursuline convent, which has retained its old Burgundy stones and authentic 17th-century character. Visiting it is a true walk of beauty, on a human scale, that can be done in one go. From room to room, you move from Antiquity to the 20th century with great joy, as the presentation is so lively, mixing paintings with furniture and sculptures. You feel like you’re in a collector’s house!
One by one, you discover archaeological objects and artifacts from the Middle Ages (two very beautiful Virgins and Child); the majestic 17th-century Dutch era with its scenes of merriment, still lifes, and several cabinets for which a French sedan chair provides a nice counterpoint.
For the 19th century, focus on the spectacular panoramic wallpaper by Joseph Dufour, a Mâcon-born founder of one of the Emperor’s two manufacturers in this field. Across 11 meters of width (only half is exhibited), the inhabitants of Oceania, delightful “noble savages,” go about their business in an exotic setting.
Not far away, a beautiful Courbet, a serene Corot, an early Monet… To finish, a rare painting by Le Corbusier and a superb collection of geometric abstract art, truly stunning!
Don’t leave without taking a look at the exhibition dedicated to Alphonse de Lamartine. For the 150th anniversary of his death, the museum will inaugurate a permanent space on July 16, mixing sculptures, paintings, and literary works.
5 rue de la Préfecture, 71000 Mâcon
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
Full price: 6 € / reduced 3 €
Free for students, those under 18, and the unemployed
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Lamartine’s family home in Milly
This old house entered the Lamartine family in 1640. It is now inhabited alternately by two brothers who are descendants of the poet, and who are very attached to the place and its preservation. From this “harvest house” (as it was nicknamed) that remains completely preserved, emanates a very particular atmosphere blending history and intimacy.
The poet and politician spent his youth there with his parents, whose very simple life was entirely occupied by daily tasks and the management of the 40 hectares of vines that surrounded it.
After pushing open the old gate, you first visit the garden with its four old cedars, its stone bench, and the famous ivy immortalized by a poem. Then comes the living room with its floral armchairs, trinkets, and souvenirs; the dining room, whose brown wall hangings with vintage pink flowers (they were once turquoise…) are period-accurate.
The kitchen has remained unchanged with its fireplace and stone sink, its large table, and its benches where the poet liked to sit for dinner with the staff. In the entrance, the only room allowed to be photographed, one can admire the bust of the poet and his work laid out on a long table. Opposite, a bouquet of daffodils sings of spring!
You can complement this visit with a trip to the Pavilion of Solitude in Prissé. In this wooden cabin, in the middle of the vineyards, the poet came to rest and write. The wooden mosaic inside is a jewel.
Lamartine House
71960 Milly-Lamartine
Individual visits (guided): from Easter to All Saints’ Day, Sundays and public holidays at 4 pm
Price: 7 € / visits for groups (guided) all year round by appointment at the price of 6 €
Free for children under 12
Reservation by email recommended with Catherine Sornay de Combaud: catherine2c7101@gmail.com
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The Château de Pierreclos
This castle, now surrounded by vines, was once a Gallo-Roman oppidum. It gathers nearly 1,000 years of history with evidence from different eras.
You can discover in turn a beautifully decorated Romanesque chapel as well as a series of medieval rooms: an old kitchen, cellars full of barrels and ancient tools illustrating the work in the vineyard (wine press, grape hods…), dungeons… Outside, a flamboyant gate, a keep, and a terrace with a panoramic view also illustrate this grand history.
Regarding the more personal history, Lamartine has a place here too… Staying willingly at Pierreclos, he reportedly met two women, Jacqueline de Pierreclau and her sister-in-law Nina, whose tender smile and very soft eyes resisted him so little that he had a son with the beauty!
The Château de Pierreclos now belongs to Anne-Françoise and Jean-Marie Pidault, a couple of winemakers who live there, work there, and have opened 5 beautifully decorated guest rooms. An ideal place to simultaneously enjoy history, rest, and, in moderation of course, wine!
71960 Pierreclos
Open for visits from April 1st to September 30th
Dfrom April to September: every day from 2 pm to 7 pm (except Monday and Saturday)
In July and August: every day from 10 am to 7 pm (except Saturday)
Adult admission: 7.50 € / 7-12 years 5 € / gfree for children under 7
Groups: information and reservations by phone or email: contact@chateaudepierreclos.com
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Daniel Steegmann Mangrané at the I.A.C in Villeurbanne
A rather unique and interesting experience is the exhibition by this Catalan artist who currently lives in Rio de Janeiro. The latter has completely remodeled the spatial layout of this venue, transforming all the museum staff into architects and masons!
Across 900 square meters, he proposes a succession of empty spaces with varied geometric shapes, lit by windows of different sizes, sometimes very narrow.
The visitor is invited to reflect, meditate, and enjoy silence, as well as a spatial and luminous experience. This may lead to introspection, a reflection on black and white (and their inability to truly exist), the soothing magic of light, and the beauty of silhouettes standing out against these solid backgrounds…
Fascinated by the Amazon rainforest, the artist, when younger, wanted to become a biologist, entomologist, or botanist. At the end of the tour, he screens a video showing stick insects in the forest. These twig insects blend so well into their environment that they are difficult to spot.
An invitation, no doubt, for us humans to do the same. That we become one with nature, perhaps to try to save ourselves through it…
Daniel Steegmann Mangrané Exhibition, until April 28, 2019
Institute of Contemporary Art of Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes
11 rue du Docteur Dolard, 69100 Villeurbanne
Open every day except Monday and Tuesday
Hours change every day depending on the light (check the website)
Full price: 6 € / reduced 4 €
The pro tip: one ticket gives access to as many visits as you wish
