MAISON GUERMONT (2023)
Visiting Milène Guermont's living space made me think of all the other artists I've known who have built or assembled houses, real or imagined, for themselves and others – from Carlo Mollino to Thomas Schutte. But in Guermont's case, everything is connected to everything, from the micro to the macro, from function to form. Her home is becoming an extension of her being, and Guermont herself is the true interior of the home. “The Maison is a work of art,” wrote Kazuo Shinohara, and "the residence is a work of art." The residence must be other than what is thought to be architecture, it must be considered an art form in itself, like painting or sculpture.
Chris DERCON
General Manager of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Art Historian and Curator, 2021
Total Artwork
MAISON GUERMONT is an inhabitable and performative sculpture in the heart of New Athens, the cradle of Romanticism in Paris, between the residences of Wagner and of Cocteau.
4 years of experimentations were necessary to create this total artwork in the continuity of Gesamtkunstwerk. It combines poetry & innovation.
The subterfuge to make art vital: the artist gives functions to sculptures to make their presence essential. Each element of daily life (the door handle, the soap, the air, ...) was the subject of reflections and the occasion for new risk-taking (concepts, forms, materials, uses, know-how, scenarios, games with space, ...). The resulting creations interact with each other thanks to 3 shapes (triangle, madeleine and cloud) and 3 colors (gold, white and Bleu Ciel De Paris).
The major names of 100 disciplines (from the dressmaker to the aluminum industrialist through to the lighting designer and the best sommelier in the world) have been challenged by the artist for the making of this house-sculpture whose every element is a work of art in itself.
This artwork of a new kind is unveiled through artistic performances untitled IMMERSIONS (booking here) prior to the launch of a book in Autumn 2024.
First article of the work in process here and of the finalized piece there
Follow the activation of the artwork in story on instagram here
To find out more: www.maisonguermont.com
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