The result of thirty years of transformation, the park of the Venet Foundation, in Le Muy, is a total work, a self-portrait of the artistic friendships of the sculptor Bernar Venet bringing together creations by Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, James Turrell, Anish Kapoor...
The Venet Foundation, a must in Le Muy
"Often, the Domaine du Muy is described as a haven of peace, but it is anything but a haven of peace, it is a living place in perpetual evolution", insists Bernar Venet. Aged 81, the sculptor Bernar Venet is bubbling with energy and projects. An effervescence that animates him from his beginnings, pushing him to fly to New York in 1966, then barely 25 years old, on the advice of his friend, the artist Arman. There he discovers the works of American minimalists Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre and Dan Flavin, who will have a lasting influence on him and whom he will be keen to make known. Here he is launched in New York, his home base for nearly forty years.
James Turrell, Elliptic Ecliptic. © Frederic Chavaroche
An ever-changing sculpture park
At the end of the 1980s, he began looking for a space to store his sculptures and decided to return to his native region. After several months of research, he acquired the Serres property organized around a river and a mill dating from 1737, near the village of Le Muy in the Var hinterland. Seduced by space, he can finally experiment on a large scale with his Collapses, monumental ribbons of Corten steel. Over the years, he acquired new plots of land and completely redesigned the space to accommodate the works he collected.
Stella Chapel built in June 2014. © Antoine Baralhe
Conceptual and minimal art in the spotlight
Today, this protean place of 7 hectares mixes, in an omnipresent nature, ancient and contemporary architecture, creations of the sculptor and emblematic works of conceptual and minimal art by Arman, Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Robert Morris, Sir Anthony Caro , Phillip King, Larry Bell, Richard Long, James Turrell , Frank Stella… The Venet Foundation also houses two exhibition spaces: the gallery, which hosts the temporary summer exhibition each year, and the factory, which houses works by Bernard Venet. A real life project that the artist conceived with the support of his wife, Diane, and that he has been sharing with the public since 2014.
The foundation is open from mid-June to mid-October.
Venet Foundation, 365, chemin du Moulin-des-Serres, 83490 Le Muy, www.venetfoundation.org
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