Since 2014, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès has overseen the programme of temporary exhibitions at La Grande Place, Musée Saint-Louis. Located on the grounds of the crystal workshops, this space hosts contemporary art exhibitions inspired by the craftsmanship on display in the museum. Built on the ruins of a former kiln, the name “La Grande Place” takes its name from a team of crystal artisans reknown for their virtuosity. The exhibition space borrowed this name in homage to those who have embodied, perpetuated and passed on the skills associated with crystal over hundreds of years. Since 2014, La Grande Place, Musée Saint-Louis has been part of the Foundation’s ecosystem of galleries. Situated within the workshops themselves, this contemporary art venue extends the mission of the Musée Saint-Louis, which is dedicated to the conservation of heritage crystalware collections. At La Grande Place, the Foundation invites artists to engage in dialogue with these historic creations displayed throughout the museum, as well as with the expertise of crystal-making.
La Grande Place, Musée Saint-Louis
La Grande Place, Musée Saint-Louis
The Foundation’s exhibition space in France
A curatorial programme imagined by the artistic institutions of the Grand Est region
In order to foster synergies with the surrounding region and the local artistic scene, and in partnership with the Cristallerie Saint-Louis, the Foundation has entrusted the curatorial programme of this space to regional cultural institutions, who are invited to propose cycles of several exhibitions. In 2014, the Centre Pompidou-Metz curated three exhibitions at La Grande Place. The first of these was “Simple Gestures”, which was devised by Jean de Loisy to echo the concurrent exhibition “Simple Forms” at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, co-produced by the Foundation. Following on from this first partnership, other artistic institutions in the Grand Est region were invited to oversee the curatorial programme: 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine (Metz), La Synagogue de Delme, Centre d’Art Contemporain, the Vent des Forêts art centre, and finally the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg. Thanks to their distinct characters and diverse artistic perspectives, each of these institutions was able to approach the project of La Grande Place with a fresh and singular outlook.
Temporary exhibitions in resonance with crystal
In between these cycles of exhibitions curated by institutions, La Grande Place also hosts solo and collective projects which attest to both the creative force that stems from the Cristallerie Saint-Louis and the variety of approaches present on this iconic site. Invited artists have included Patrick Neu, who presented his work on crystalware in a series of delicate pieces crafted using skills developed in the workshops. Patrick Faigenbaum similarly immersed himself in the Cristallerie to capture the spirit of the site in a series of photographs.
The Foundation has also imagined collective projects, creating links with other programmes such as “Sables brûlants”, which brought together works by artists who had undertaken residencies in the Cristallerie, or “Le verre”, dedicated to projects imagined during the final workshop of the Skills Academy dedicated to glass under the guidance of Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. Operating in the same region since 1856, the Cristallerie Saint-Louis infuses the exhibition space with a unique tone. Through its eclecticism, the programme at La Grande Place, Musée Saint-Louis attests to the rich inspiration that continues to emerge from this exceptional site.
Informations
Exhibitions programmed at La Grande Place
With the Centre Pompidou-Metz
Group exhibition “Simples Gestes”
Curated by Jean de Loisy and Sandra Adam-Couralet
Group exhibition “Cristallisations – la naissance d’un ordre caché”
Curated by Hélène Guenin and Alexandra Müller
Capucine Vandebrouck, “Efflorescences”
Curated by Hélène Guenin
With 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine
Group exhibition “Rêve d’obscur. Au pays des étoiles terrestres”
Curated by 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine
Group exhibition “Over the Rainbow”
Curated by Béatrice Josse
Group exhibition “Arweider”
Curated by Béatrice Josse
With La Synagogue de Delme - Centre d’Art Contemporain
L’héritage des secrets
Hippolyte Hentgen, “Overlay”
Thu-Van Tran, “Une Place au soleil”
Dominique Ghesquière, “L’avant-monde”
Cycle curated by Marie Cozette
Patrick Neu, “Manège”
Group exhibition “Sables brûlants”
With eight artists having undertaken residencies at the cristallerie
Curated by Gaël Charbau
With the Vent des Forêts
Andrés Baron, “Cling Cling Boum”
Lionel Sabatté, “La Ruche”
Noel Varoqui, “on n’est forteresse”
Curated by Pascal Yonet
Group exhibition “Le Verre”
With the projects developed in the final workshop of the fifth Skills Academy, dedicated to glass
Patrick Faigenbaum, “Patrick Faigenbaum à la cristallerie Saint-Louis”
Curated by Jean-François Chevrier
With the Centre Pompidou-Metz
Gretel Weyer, “Les Invités”
Group exhibition, “Éclats du crépuscule”
Léa Barbazanges, “Toute la beauté du monde”
Curated by Estelle Pietrzyk