“I will then attack the garden”, the Lemanska villa revisited by the painter Clair Arthur at Baccarat

Vosges artist Clair Arthur has carte blanche to rethink the Villa Lemanska, in Baccarat. The building, which dates from the beginning of the 20th century, will be open during the summer to reveal this gigantic ephemeral work to the public.

Since April, the painter and director Clair Arthur (born in 1954 in Épinal in the Vosges), has regularly left his workshop in Nancy to take over the walls of the Villa Lemanska, in Baccarat (Meurthe-et- Moselle). He has carte blanche to express his universe with explosive colors, halfway between theater and painting, in every corner of this century-old building. The new face of this house will be revealed to the public from August 15 to September 22, 2024.

In total, more than 300 m² entirely covered with kraft paper to serve as a canvas for the artist who takes over all the pieces. “I am inspired by street collage, street art. I even painted in the stairwell and in the two bathrooms in the villa. There, I am on the 2nd and last floor of the house. I have been coming at least twice a week for three months, I have about 10 days of work left. I will then attack the garden, installing totems and curtains there.explains the artist.

The name of the villa, “Lemanska”, was imagined by Véronique, the owner of this mansion dating from the beginning of the 20th century. It was she who gave free rein to the artist to invest the place in painting and create this gigantic ephemeral work. “This villa has an interesting history, it would have been the property of a cavalry colonel and one of the directors of the Baccarat crystal factory.reports Clair Arthur.

Accustomed to large formats on paper, Clair Arthur has already revisited several industrial sites. But this is the very first time that he has invested in a villa. “It’s as if the walls were telling what they had seen and heard. I imagined the story of a 19th century baron, inventor of the first submarines, and his daughter, heir to the house who came to have parties there. At times I take liberties and lose sight of the story.”smiles the artist, carried by the soul of the building.

No more classic frames and formats, Clair Arthur likes to see things big. “The more unusual, the better. I like to scenography the space and immerse the viewer in a universe”, insists the Vosges artist. On this unique and ephemeral “wallpaper”, he reveals an imagination drawn partly from childhood, but also addresses more difficult themes. “I imagined acrobats, trapeze artists, people who move in the air but also current themes such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.confides Clair Arthur.

The walls of Villa Lemanska will reveal their secrets to the public from August 15 to September 22, 2024, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. (free entry).