The Cistercian abbey of Mazan, founded in the 12th century. A circle and a thousand fragments unfold on the walls and roofs of the different buildings constituting the abbey. Work by Felice Varini as part of the Sharing of Waters.
Description
“Light has always been an integral part of my work. When I use a single color, the light allows me to reveal the infinite nuances. Here in Mazan, I chose gold leaf to further capture the variations in light depending on the time of day and the seasons. I also wanted to echo the diversity of minerals present on the abbey site. »
Felice VARINI
A circle and a thousand fragments unfold on the walls and roofs of the different buildings constituting the Mazan abbey and the old fortifications which surround it, as well as on the bridge, the inn and the old school, thus recreating a setting for the measure of this prestigious site. The watershed is a zone of strong climatic contrasts where variations are sudden and the effects of the sun particularly varied. Also, for the first time in his career, the artist chose to work with gold leaf, mineral on mineral, in order to explore the abilities of this natural material to capture the variations of light on the stone.
From a precise point of view to be discovered from the belvedere which overlooks the abbey, the gold leaf draws a frame starting from a single perfect circle surrounded by fragments of circles with regular spacing. Their support being the built heritage – what men have left as a trace over the centuries – the imagination continues the framework well beyond its site, making the abbey the central point of an influence which could extend to infinity.
TO LEARN MORE about the behind-the-scenes creation of this work, DISCOVER the film by director Antoine de Roux “A circle and a thousand fragments, Felice Varini, Abbaye de Mazan”, 2017, 28 mins, production Felice Varini / Double Éléphant
Creation: 2017
Project management: Eva Albarran
Felice Varini
Felice VariniFelice Varini
Born in 1952 in Locarno (Switzerland) and living in Paris, Felice Varini develops in situ art. He acts in his capacity as an artist on the physical reality of a landscape, of an architecture. From his beginnings at the end of the 1970s, he freed himself from the framework of painting to develop it in space. Paradoxically, it reveals the fundamentally two-dimensional character of the painting since seen from a very precise point, the fragments painted in space come together to form a perfect geometry which imposes itself on the eye. Apart from this point of view, it is the fragmentation of the figure; the volumes of space take over.
Invited to the greatest artistic institutions around the world, he has created numerous indoor works such as at the Orangery of the Palace of Versailles, at La maison rouge/Fondation Antoine de Galbert, at the MONA in Hobart in Tasmania... His interventions in exteriors are also numerous, such as in the King's Cross district in London, at the Grand Palais in Paris, in the port of Saint-Nazaire as part of Estuaire or on the roof terrace of the Cité Radieuse du Corbusier in Marseille.
TO learn more about the artist’s approach, LISTEN to Félice Varini in “La grande tablée d’été” – France culture – April 28, 2015 interview
Mazan Abbey
Mazan AbbeyMazan Abbey, before the artistic intervention
The Cistercian abbey of Mazan, founded in the 4th century, stands its ruins in the heart of a preserved natural environment. Its considerable expansion (1661 daughter abbeys renamed Le Thoronet, Bonneval, Sylvanès and Sénanque) during the 1790th and XNUMXth centuries was a source of covetousness during periods of unrest. The monks are forced to build fortifications to protect themselves from the raiders of the Hundred Years' War. In XNUMX, only a dozen monks still lived in the abbey which was closed definitively in XNUMX by the French Revolution. Like many other religious houses, the abbey became a stone quarry.
In recent years, several parts of the abbey have been brought into compliance in order to make the site accessible. In spring 2016, the lay wing was restored. The site has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1946.
“Architectural space, and everything that constitutes it, is my field of action. These spaces are and remain the primary supports of my painting. The point of view will function as a reading point, that is to say as a possible starting point when approaching painting and space. The painted form is coherent when the viewer is in that location. When it leaves the point of view, the work encounters space which generates an infinity of points of view on the form. It is therefore not through this first point that I see the work carried out; this is held in all the points of view that the spectator can have on him. » Félice Varini
Access
Mazan Abbey is located in the heart of the village to which it gives its name and which overlooks it. It can be reached either by hiking along the GR(c)7. Either by car, from St Cirgues en Montagne or the Col de la Chavade (Astet, via the D239); from Montpezat, via the Roux tunnel (sometimes closed in summer, inquire before).
Parking lots are located near the town hall (top) and behind the church (bottom).
As part of the summer PROGRAMMING, guided tours are offered by the Park with the Passeurs du PARTAGE DES EAUX on each of the works on the route (see Agenda section).
Heritage tours of the abbey are offered by the Communauté de Communes Montagne d’Ardèche.
Opening
All year, every day.
We also offer:
What if the Loire, in addition to its path to the Atlantic, also flowed into the Mediterranean? This is G. Clément's hypothesis: Mont Gerbier de Jonc would function as a “water tower”. Work by Gilles Clément in the context of the Sharing of Waters.
Guided tour of the Tchier de Borée: contemporary work of 70 stones engraved with symbols and myths of the Boutières by sculptors Glypheins Fabienne and Serge Boÿer. Visit accompanied by the heritage guide of the Montagne d'Ardèche Community of Communes.
Guided discovery of the pretty village of Monastier sur Gazeille with friends from Issarlès.
Discover the 12th century Cistercian abbey of Mazan, the church and the work of the artistic journey of Partage des Eaux by F. Varini A circle and a thousand Fragments. Visit accompanied by the heritage guide of the Montagne d'Ardèche Community of Communes.
5th edition of the Discovery Rally, opening speech. Prize giving ceremony at the end of the day around a buffet with friends from Issarlès.
Prices
| Free access. Guided tour on request. |
Location