Alex Foxton / Julian Farade → Château La Coste

Group show « Une Chambre à Soi »
Alex Foxton / Julian Farade
Château la Coste, 2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France
Curated by Margaux Plessy

Château La Coste is pleased to present ‘Une Chambre à Soi’, a group exhibition curated by Margaux Plessy, bringing together more than fifteen emerging international artists in dialogue with women artists who are figures in the history of art. On show in La Galerie de Richard Rogers from 14 September to 12 November 2024, this immersive exhibition will tell the story of a night, from sunset to sunrise. Visitors will be immersed in the warm, intimate world of a bedroom, moving from dusk to dawn to the rhythm of the works specially designed for the exhibition.

A lover of literature and poetry, Margaux Plessy has borrowed the title of the exhibition from Virginia Woolf's essay ‘A Room of One's Own’, which evokes themes of intimacy, secrecy and the possibility of the imaginary. Drawing also on her personal experience of insomnia, she has invited a group of French and international artists to create new works that express their interpretations of dreams, nightmares and restlessness, exploring sleep, or the lack of it, as a driver of creativity. This tightrope walk is accompanied by a story made up entirely of words, extracts and ideas borrowed from the greatest authors of French literature, collected and arranged like a centon by Margaux Plessy.

The exhibition begins with an invitation to close your eyes and ends with an invitation to open them again. In the meantime, during a solitary night, visitors will experience a nocturnal journey that is both simple and unique, through paintings, sculptures, and tapestries. At the center of the room, Dorothy Cross’s marble sculpture, composed of two pillows gently cradling an ear, and Kiki Smith’s silver bird Crescent Bird (2015) set a tone of mystery and intrigue for the night ahead. As the sun sets, Claudia Keep’s luminous oil paintings create a calming atmosphere alongside Tracey Emin’s poetic reclining figure Thinking More of You (2012) and Nathanaëlle Herbelin’s ethereal Fenêtre bleue (2023). Visitors are gently carried away by the dreams of Alex Foxton, Joshua Raz, and Simon Martin before awakening in the restless frustration of insomnia. Four works from Louise Bourgeois’s series What Is the Shape of This Problem? (1999) reflect the racing thoughts and overthinking provoked by this state of semi-consciousness. As the minutes tick by, the fear of the coming day intensifies, and feelings of weakness and helplessness are mirrored in the bronze bouquet of wilted sunflowers by Victoire Inchauspé, slumped against a wall. The porcelain sink and bathroom cabinet Scrub, Spritz, Splash (2019) by Genesis Belanger offer a brief respite, sitting alongside Inès Longevial’s surreal series of drawings depicting hybrid animal, human, and plant figures on toilet paper. Another awakening leads visitors to the kitchen, where they encounter Bianca Bondi’s exquisite meal installation, crafted entirely from salt. Vivid and nightmarish imagery in shades of blue engulfs the visitors as they enter the most emotional moment of the exhibition. Julian Farade’s frightening beastly figure Gardien de mes nuits (2023) triggers physical reactions akin to night terrors, as it pursues or threatens the viewer in an immersive blue environment with no escape. Sursaut (2023) by Constance Lafonta encapsulates the sensation of being startled, while Marcella Barceló evokes a more sinister mood in her painting La jument de nuit (2024), depicting a solitary nude figure observed or followed by a menacing black horse. The blurred boundaries between reality and imagination, and the intense emotions of fear, sadness, and panic, continue to be explored in new works by Adrian Geller, Djabril Boukenaissi, and Xie Lei, created specifically for the exhibition. Finally, the visitor is relieved by the arrival of dawn, heralded by La Ciudad de Oro by Bolivian artist Kenia Almaraz Murillo, a glowing halo above a variety of delicately woven threads in shades of gold, yellow, and amber. Color also serves as the guiding thread in the practice of Etel Adnan, whose prints inspire serenity and comfort, alongside new emotionally charged works and drawings by Christine Safa. Nathanaëlle Herbelin’s nude figure David (2020) smokes a cigarette in the mist of sunrise, reflecting on the events of the night before and soothing his anxiety. Sophie Calle’s edition Ainsi de suite reads “Here lies secrets” over a monotonous sea, thus closing the loop on a night so ordinary yet so rich in events.

A Catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition

ARTISTS

Etel Adnan, Collection du Château La Coste
Kenia Almaraz Murillo, Custot Gallery
Marcella Barcelo
Genesis Belanger, Private Collection of Mr Michaël Benabou
Bianca Bondi, mor Charpentier
Djabril Boukhenaïssi, Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Galerie Sator
Louise Bourgeois, Collection du Château La Coste
Sophie Calle, Perrotin
Dorothy Cross, Collection du Château La Coste
Tracey Emin, Collection du Château La Coste
Julian Farade, Galerie Derouillon,
Alex Foxton, Galerie Derouillon,
Adrian Geller, Super Dakota
Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Galerie Jousse Entreprise
Victoire Inchauspé
Constance Lafonta
Ines Longevial, Ketabi Bourdet
Claudia Keep, Galerie Marguo
Simon Martin, Galerie Jousse Entreprise
Joshua Raz
Kiki Smith, Galerie Lelong & Co.
Christine Safa, Galerie Lelong & Co.
Xie Lei, Semiose