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This year, Maison Ruinart’s Carte Blanche offers for the first time a collective and diverse vision, driven by six artists from around the world. They have been selected to come and dialogue with nature in the Champagne region to question our relationship with living things. Inspired by this tangible connection with nature, Maison Ruinart lays the foundations of a collective movement.
Some are interested in climate, others biodiversity. All of them focus on the relationship between mankind and nature through their unique prism.
Andrea Bowers combines art and activism, Thijs Biersteker bases his work on scientific data, Marcus Coates creates new relationships with a "more than human" world, Pascale Marthine Tayou brings out beauty where least expected, Henrique Oliveira and his spectacular sculptures bring plants and other organic elements together, while Tomoko Sauvage is passionate about bubbles – from how they form to their transparent appearance.
Andrea Bowers was born in 1965 in Wilmington (Ohio, USA). She lives and works in Los Angeles. She is an artist and activist for environmental, immigration and women’s rights. Her works are included in major public collections in the United States and abroad. Andrea Bowers excels in building aesthetically accomplished artworks with radical political content.
"My job is to draw attention to political issues by giving them a tangible form."
Henrique Oliveira was born in Brazil in 1973 and set up his studio in London in 2020.While his paintings evoke an organic proliferation of colors, his sculptures create the illusion of vegetal roots emerging in the urban environment. Made from marquetry of planks sourced from recycled pallets – "tapumes" - they bring to mind the construction fences of Brazilian cities and the precarious materials of favelas. Henrique Oliveira, sensitive to sustainable development issues, draws inspiration from the parasitic dimension of these structures, while also highlighting the importance of a mindful use of natural resources.
" The intense craftwork involved in my branch sculptures mirrors the effort we must make to have back the same nature that was once taken for granted.”
Marcus Coates, born in Great Britain, is an award-winning artist who creates econumerical installations.Through different media : painting, photography, sculpture and sound installations, Marcus Coates explores imaginary and symbolic relationships between mankind and nature. In the form of videos, texts and performances, his work establishes links between individuals and species by creating empathy. Marcus Coates is best known for his performative films featuring encounters with imagined animals. He is considered as one of the most important contemporary artists focusing on art and nature.
“A lot of my work is a conversation with nature, not necessarily talking with, but more noticing, listening and watching, to try to understand and become aware of the needs and perspectives of other species.”
Pascale Marthine Tayou was born in Yaoundé in Cameroon in 1967. After immigrating to Sweden and then France, he has been based in Belgium since 2003. His sculptures, collages, installations, videos and photos draw on and hybridise these preconceptions in Africa and Europe. Without ever being aggressive or moralistic, he evokes the contradictions and injustices generated by globalisation. Combining humour and poetry, his work is often spectacular despite being created from simple, inexpensive, recycled materials. The artist has gained international recognition, notably through his participation in Documenta 11 (2002) in Kassel and the 2005 and 2009 Venice Biennale.
"What interests me is the human element.”
Thijs Biersteker was born in the Netherlands in 1983. He lives and works in Amsterdam. He describes himself as an artist committed to ecology. He works together with worldwide renowned scientists and institutions on urgent topics like climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation – turning scientific facts into artworks that provoke emotion and awareness. Using scientific data and sensors, he creates interactive artworks to make science and ecology accessible. His works are always created through scientific collaborations with universities, researchers and cultural institutions like UNESCO and who to bring scientific information to life.
"I want to show the similarities between all living things. This way we will respect them, and what you respect you protect.”
Tomoko Sauvage was born in Yokohama in Japan. She lives and works in Paris.The artist has gained international renown for her experimental approach to music, which combines acoustic instruments with electronic technology. Her artistic journey is closely linked to her interest in the transformative qualities of natural elements, particularly water. Tomoko Sauvage often composes with a series of porcelain bowls filled with water. For nearly fifteen years, she has also researched the sound effects of bubbles, which she uses in her creations. By manipulating the surface of the water and using hydrophones (underwater microphones), she produces singular sounds that blur the lines between the organic and electronic.
"I work with vibrations, which are the expression of living things. Everything around us is vibrations and we are too."
"Artists are the best ambassadors to promote the preservation of nature, which is essential for Maison Ruinart. They are at the cutting edge of society and have a powerful language capable of engaging our different audiences."
Frédéric Dufour, President, Maison Ruinart