While browsing on Leboncoin, he found a school designed by one of the most popular French designers on the market

We know, on Leboncoin, you can find everything. From a pair of baby slippers to an apartment, including a 1950s table or a Vallauris ceramic vase… We rush there to save money and do business, to play the responsible second-hand card, but also… find treasures! Antique dealers and lovers of vintage pieces jostle there, scrolling endlessly to find the extraordinary piece at a good price. Nathan Chiche, collector of old books, is one of those addicted to the platform. And it was while looking for a rare collection that he came across… a school by Jean Prouvé. The French designer and architect, who died in 1984, is exhibited all over the world and his furniture is sold in auction rooms at prices of up to 2 million euros; its architectural structures flirting with 3 million euros.

An extraordinary call for projects

“I was looking for a book on Jean Prouvé. I am a great admirer of this man. I must have selected the category incorrectly. Or maybe the offer was poorly classified… I came across the call for projects from the town of Vantoux, located in the Moselle department, concerning this school completely by chance, Nathan remembers. It was quite succinct. So I did some research. I discovered that it had been built in 1949 at the request of national education. It was Jean Prouvé who was selected for this project. It had to meet the requirements of the post-war period, being done urgently with reduced costs. His school will be delivered and set up in two days by two people. Another school of this type was built in Bouqueval, in the Paris region, but it was sold and moved to a gallery owner. Only that of Vantoux is still visible. It welcomed children until 2014 and was classified as a historic monument. Recently renovated, it could once again welcome the public, and the town of Vantoux was looking for an interesting idea to revive the place. I immediately proposed installing an art gallery within these walls. And my application was accepted against others that were a little eccentric: Airbnb rental, nursery…”

We are now at the end of 2023. Things will happen very quickly, because the school is in very good condition. The city was in fact able to have it restored for an amount of 700,000 euros, thanks to the sale of the director's house. Located a little further away and also signed Jean Prouvé, it has not been classified. The Grégoire André firm will be responsible for the renovation. The teams dismantled the damaged building to transport it to the workshops in Nancy in order to restore it and reassemble it again in Vantoux at the same location. Jean Prouvé having designed his structures so that they could be easily modified, dismantled and moved, the task, although delicate, is nevertheless very coherent. And when Nathan pushes the door open, he is pleasantly surprised. And can quickly start its activity.

A rare place, an ideal setting

“The box was there! The whole is simple, consisting of a classroom of 70 m², a courtyard of more than 65 m², a workshop of 45 m² and toilets of 35 m². We recognize all the distinctive elements of Prouvé such as the compasses, the portholes, the visible bolting… And above all, the care given to each detail, the ingenuity of the arrangements. Thus, the ceiling height is 3.30 meters which, at the time, was very rare. As for the bay windows, they open completely, which, for bringing in imposing works, is a great asset! In the 1990s, a second prefabricated classroom, which is obviously not by Prouvé, was added. We thought about remodeling it but, ultimately, we gave up and installed a projection room and a bookstore. »

Nathan is only 24 years old… And although he had never imagined investing in such an exceptional and rare place, his path to the world of art was in some ways clear-cut. After his baccalaureate, he began studying law at Assas but ultimately moved towards a degree in history of art and architecture at the Catholic Institute of Paris. Then he continued with a master's degree in museum management and the art market, which he enriched with internships, notably at the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house. This journey is easily explained: Nathan has always been immersed in the world of art. “My mother had a gallery on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris and, as a child, I spent all my free time there. We lived surrounded by works and artists. So I developed an eye quite young, and I'm not afraid to contact creators, having been around them my whole life. »

From classroom to art gallery

Nathan therefore launches without fear, using Instagram in particular to approach the artists he wishes to invite to his “gallery school” in Vantoux. However, there is no frenzy in his approach: his ambition is to focus on “solo shows” scheduled for several months, so that the inhabitants of the village and the region can benefit from them. Just like the visitors to the neighboring Center Pompidou Metz, the curious, the amateurs, the collectors coming from Luxembourg (“Sometimes even by bike!”, reports the gallery owner), from Belgium, from Switzerland, ultimately quite close. But also those coming from Paris, 1 hour 20 minutes by train, and from all corners of France and Europe.

“My guiding principle is to create surprise in this atypical place. It’s a way of making an impression on the general public. We are very far from white cubesthese white boxes that traditional galleries modify at will to accommodate their events. I want each guest personality to create a real dialogue with this unexpected setting, which is already a work in itself,” explains Nathan.

It was Jean-Pierre Raynaud who signed the inaugural exhibition in spring 2024, with the theme of returning to childhood, in harmony with the history of the school. For the occasion, the town hall lent the desks signed by Prouvé. “A single copy of these desks is visible at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Nancy. The others are kept in the city safe of Vantoux. So it was an exceptional moment, insists Nathan. Especially since Jean-Pierre Raynaud had chosen to associate them with a set of ceramic tiles presented in Venice. It was a success. »

Until January 2025, you can admire the work of Mircea Cantor. “I am delighted that this artist, winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2011, whose works are part of the most beautiful collections, and whom I love enormously, has accepted my invitation. His proposal is designed around flight with in particular its Fishing Flya fighter plane made of oil barrels, stainless steel and Plexiglas, and geographical maps painted with candle soot. It is totally consistent with the school's past: in the photos, we see maps hanging on the wall. This also echoes the career of Prouvé, who spent time in the air force. We are having a real conversation here and I am proud to be able to share it. » Thus, Nathan's treasure is not hidden, kept out of sight. It is offered to everyone, as long as you have the curiosity to go to Vantoux.

Nathan Chiche Gallery, 90, rue Jean Julien Barbe, 57070 Vantoux.

nathanchiche.com