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The “Arpenter le monde” exhibition features nearly 30 works from the Frac (Regional Contemporary Art Fund) collection. Sculptures, drawings, paintings, films and photographs invite you to travel and refer to “elsewhere”. As Brest prepares to host ships and three-masted ships having sailed on all seas from July 12 to 17, the director of the Capucins workshops Alain Lelièvre considers himself happy that “this summer exhibition can benefit from the boost projector of the Maritime Festivals”.
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The works were imagined by 13 artists including some Breton talents such as Michel Thersiquel born in Bannalec and died in Douarnenez in 2007. His series “Le pays bigouden” reveals portraits of Bigoudènes in their daily lives. A way for Étienne Bernard, director of the Frac, to “rehumanize a folklore sometimes perceived as a little outdated”. Three oils on paper by the painter Geneviève Asse, member of the French Resistance, entitled “Granite Blue” are also presented, the opportunity to reveal her work in the color blue, emblematic of her work.
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In the middle of the first floor of the workshops, sits a white Trojan horse reaching 4.2 meters high. The sculpture, designed in 2013 by Bruno Peinado, rests on a replica of a cannon carriage and is supported by wooden supports reminiscent of ship oars. Already in 2020, the Capuchins planned to welcome it but with the pandemic, it ultimately took four years to come. “It is an emblematic work of the collection. An object that dialogues with other objects in the workshops such as machines,” emphasizes Étienne Bernard.
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Two films are shown on loop during the exhibition and are, according to the director of the Frac, “the two most political pieces” in the collection. “Rua de Mão Única”, filmed by Cinthia Marcelle and Tiago Mata Machado, shows a street taken over by demonstrators. This living picture tells the story of social movements and shows how we can “survey, occupy and invest in the struggle”. The second film, named “Deep Sleep” and designed by Basma Alsharif, draws on the artist’s Palestinian roots. While it was never able to set foot in Gaza, it surveyed the Mediterranean basin from Malta to Athens for twelve minutes to get closer to the blocked territory.
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This exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Frac, which brings together nearly 5,500 works and brings together more than 1,500 artists of 125 nationalities. The fund had been in discussion for almost a year and a half with the Ateliers des Capucins to host the exhibition. “We like this type of exhibition which appeals to all our audiences: tourists, young people…” confided Alain Lelièvre. Moreover, barely installed on Friday, the Trojan horse is already intriguing a number of children visiting the Capuchins.
