After the success of the theatrical performance The Two Queens, performed Friday evening by Andréa Ferréol and Frédérique Tirmont, in period red and black dresses in a sold-out 350-seat Jardin des Étuves, the Flâneries d’art contemporain d’Aix-en-Provence started Saturday June 15 and continues today Sunday. “It’s a year dedicated to youth! Les Flâneries are there to support themchanted the festival’s founder, actress Andréa Ferréol, on Saturday during the inauguration. The youngest painter, Milox, is 16 years old, the pianist Mathis Cathignol, 23 years old, the dancing duo of the Ballet Preljocaj junior, Jack Rexhausen and Ayla Pidoux, are 20 years old and 21 years old, the musicians of the piano-violin duo Arborescence are 23 years…”
We start at the Jardin des Étuves, opposite the Aquabella hotel, with the 13 abstract, lively and rounded works (count between €90 and €850), by the very young Milox de Lourmarin: “I use the spray can that I learned to master through graffiti and street art to create gradients and transparency effects. I complete with acrylic markers and stencils to create the shape, graffiti letters like the X, the E, the I or the O which have evolved towards abstraction“, smiles the man who has always drawn and had his first exhibition at the age of… 12 years old.
At the stand opposite, from a distance, you might think you’re seeing photos. In reality, they are charcoal drawings: “I start from a photo, whether of stars at the start or old photos of children or family lying around in drawers, to make hyperrealistic portraits, working on the texture and shadows with very fine-tipped charcoal.explains Nicolas Pagnier, based in Marseille. The charcoal adds a veil of softness and emotion. Sometimes I add small touches of gold leaf to give pep to the whole thing when it suits it well.“His works are sold between €200 and €900 and it is possible to order him to revive an old family photo.
Piano, harp, design sculptures and theater
Higher up in the garden, facing the stage and the grand piano played by Nans Bart, we find the astonishing optical works (€900 to €1,600) by the Franco-German Sascha Nordmeyer, who will soon inaugurate a monumental sculpture in homage in Reims to organ donors. Made up of “mini reflectors“, which reflect the light differently depending on the inclination, we believe we are contemplating scales or musical scores written in light in his works.
In the Warriors’ Garden, in the parallel street, “the darling of the festival“Philippe Cariou declaims with panache and mischief the witticisms of the late Groucho Marx among the slender iron sculptures hanging from Pauline Ohrel’s trees. Facing the swimming pool, the sculptor Clément Santos observes, amused: “I divert well-known logos like Chanel or Nintendo by seeking to erase the signified. What fascinates me is how visuals, nourished by marketing and communication, are loaded with meaning and how to move away from the obvious, renew our view of them.”
Last stop at the Mérindol garden, where the trills of birds, the crystalline notes of Ameylia Saad Wu’s harp and the tinkling of the water flowing from the fountain intertwine. At the bottom of the garden, again astonishingly serene, behind the sculptures and designer furniture by Guillaume Piéchaud, Manon, 25, draws cards at free prices for those who want to see themselves predicting the future. That of Flâneries, in any case, thanks to the numerous patrons, is already written: “I already have four artists booked for the 19th edition, June 21 and 22, 2025“, breathes Andréa Ferréol.
This Sunday at Flâneries
The 18th Contemporary Art Strolls continue this Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., under what promises to be radiant sunshine. Entrance to the gardens and all events are free.
Mérindol Garden
At 12, rue Mérindol, at 12 p.m., concert Cedar Reflections by the Keynoad trio, a subtle alchemy of colorful world music. At 2 p.m., reading by Emilie Reignier, with Jacques Patron, of the romantic correspondence between Édith Piaf and Marcel Cerdan. At 4 p.m., guitar and singing by the Spanish priest Brother Pablo. At 5:45 p.m., reading of Groucho Marx by Philippe Cariou.
Garden of the ovens
In front of the Aquabella hotel, at 3 p.m., Michel Lethiec’s clarinet with the Girard violin quartet. At 4:30 p.m., show by comedian Pierre Aucaigne, grand premiere of Flâneries. At 6:15 p.m., singer Natalie Dessay will be accompanied on the piano by Philippe Cassard.
Warriors Garden
Rue des Guerriers, at 12 p.m., Brother Pablo. At 1 p.m., Groucho Marx by Philippe Cariou. At 5:30 p.m., letters written between Edith Piaf and Marcel Cerdan.
Complete program on www.aix-en-oeuvres.com/flaneries-2024/
