Atelier des Lumières, A dream factory in Paris
Paris is full of surprises. Like the vast, once pretty anonymous foundry building on rue Saint-Maur in the 11th arrondissement, which is now the Atelier des Lumières – a soundproofed, air-conditioned, safety-equipped 2,000sq.m space fitted with 140 Barco lazer video projectors and 50 Nexo controlled dispersion loudspeakers that just blow the mind. Although we’re used to seeing images projected onto walls and buildings, according to Bruno Monnier from Culturespaces, founder of the Atelier des Lumières, this space takes the technology to a whole new level: “Because it’s so immersive, it’s like pure emotion, even though you’re still aware of the computer technology behind it.”
The space will host three exhibitions from April 13. The opening program in the main hall (1,500 sq.m) – a sort of temple to the cult of art – will explore the work of renowned painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).
Designed by Gianfranco Iannuzzi, Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi, it plunges us deep into the world of this leading light of the Viennese Secession movement, often associated with Art Nouveau.
The Kiss, Judith and Holofernes, the Portrait of Adèle Bloch-Bauer and the Beethoven Frieze, conserved at the Secession Building in the Austrian capital, are among the best-known works by this artist whose career the Atelier des Lumières explores in its own unique way. Egon Schiele (1890-1918), a contemporary of Klimt and another famous painter, will also be given a place in the show. In total, visitors are immersed in more than two hundred works. The second, short program, also in the main hall, will focus on Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000).
Lastly, the Studio (160 sq.m), the third space in the Atelier des Lumières, is dedicated to contemporary creators working with digital tools. The Turkish Ouchhh collective and its dreamlike installation, Poetic_Ai, generated using an algorithm, have created a unique and thought-provoking digital work filled with color, shape and movement. A bar in the Studio serves snacks that make the hearts of visitors melt just a little more in this one-of-a-kind workshop.
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