“aux Racines De L'albatre”, The First Exhibition To Be Held At The Alain Ellouz Foundation

Last Saturday March 26th, on a lovely spring evening, the Fondation Alain Ellouz pour l’albâtre held its inauguration. Established by Atelier Alain Ellouz, the Foundation reflects the workshop creator’s push to place alabaster on the international art scene.

“For an artist, alabaster is terra incognita. The Alain Ellouz Foundation embraces a new artistic expression” says Alain Ellouz.

Personally greeted by Alain Ellouz, guests were able to discover the exhibition Aux racines de l’albâtre. With this first exhibition, the Foundation celebrates alabaster’s transformation, a stone with characteristics as unique as they are exceptional, through a series of works by Alain Ellouz in collaboration with visual and digital artists. The exhibition began in the Foundation’s wooded park, with eight sculptural pieces from Alain Ellouz, an artist and enthusiast of outsider art. La carrière, L’orgue, Les totems, Renaissance, Émouvance, Rose des sables, Nénuphars and the spectacular Arbre d’albâtre … These creations on display throughout the park formed a surreal journey into the world of alabaster. Once night fell, the curtain raised on a captivating show where light transformed alabaster into penetrating poetry. Set to the music of Amadeo Savio, the sculptures dialogued in a dramatic resonance. The exhibition continued into the Foundation’s postmodernist building, which has truly become a temple for alabaster. In the Café de l’albâtre restaurant, guests were able to sip a delicious cocktail while admiring four sculptures entitled Naissance d’une passion. The pieces are a nod to Alain Ellouz’ technique of direct carving and to the emergence of his fascination for alabaster.

Inside the Labo, a space devoted to performances and workshops, pieces from the Pixels d’albâtre exhibition showcase the work involved in extracting alabaster from the arid lands of Zaragoza. During the evening, Alain Ellouz invited guests to participate in a deeply engaging artistic experience that created a bond between the quarries and the visitor. Each participant selected a 10 cm x 10 cm cube of alabaster ranging in color from pure white to nearly black. The cubes represented pixels of alabaster that reflect all the earth’s hues. Each person was able to participate in this unique collective artistic endeavor by choosing where and how to position their pixel of alabaster on the wells of light. Simultaneously, the music and video composition “Duettino d’albâtre” from Amadeo Savio and Jésus s.Baptista interacted with the viewer, creating a narrative in a dialog with alabaster. Guests were able to visit Galerie Philia’s Cabinet de Virtuosités temporary exhibition, which brings together over one hundred artists from the current of sculptural design, with names such as Jérôme Pereira, Cédric Breisacher, Rick Owens, Jorg Pietschmann and Pietro Franceschini to name a few. The visit continued on throughout the other floors of the building to offer both discovery and wonder, from Atelier Alain Ellouz’ magnificent showroom to the panoramic views of the sculpture garden enjoyed from the terraces. The Foundation’s inauguration ushers in a new phase for Atelier Alain Ellouz as it works to make alabaster a star material in the world of art and sculptural design.

UPCOMING OPEN DAYS : Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st from 2 pm to 7 pm

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