Winter Journey

For its 10^th contemporary art exhibition, the Palace of Versailles is organising a unique visit through the gardens titled “Winter Journey”, curated by the Palais de Tokyo.

Every year since 2008 the Palace of Versailles has held an exhibition dedicated to a French or foreign artist, with Jeff Koons in 2008, Xavier Veilhan in 2009, Takashi Murakami in 2010, Bernar Venet in 2011, Joana Vasconcelos in 2012, Giuseppe Penone in 2013, Lee Ufan in 2014, Anish Kapoor in 2015 and Olafur Eliasson in 2016. Each of these artists created a unique dialogue between their works and the palace and gardens of Versailles.

From the 22^nd of October, as the Musical Fountains Shows and the Musical Gardens draw to a close, to the 7^th of January 2018, “Winter Journey” will reveal the groves in the Gardens in a new light, revisited in multiple ways by contemporary artists, from the glory of autumn to the stunning freeze-over of winter.

Four historic fountains, each representing a different season, legitimize the important theme of a changing world. During three months “Winter Journey” accompanies those transformations casting a meditative trail through the gardens which slowly slip into the cold and the frost.

Metamorphosing a stroll into a personal experience, allowing visitors to perceive nature’s transformation, sixteen artists, bring their vision, their sensibility and their poetry. From different countries, genres, and generations, firmly established or up-and-coming, they create together an oneiric trail through the paths and the grooves.

As a link between the art works, the French novelist Céline Minard wrote a text, which reminds of Franz Schubert’s lieder.

A new multimedia initiative on the château de Versailles website invites you to discover the sixteen artists of the exhibition through photos, animations, and videos. Presentations by the curators of the exhibition provide insights that reveal some of the secrets hidden within each class.

→ Discover the presentation of the exhibition

→ Download the press release

→ Download the exhibition route

Commissionership

• Jean de Loisy, president of the Palais de Tokyo
• Yoann Gourmel and Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, curators at the Palais de Tokyo
• Alfred Pacquement, curator for contemporary art at the Palace of Versailles

Artists

• Marguerite Humeau "RIDDLES (Sphinx Otto Protecting Earth from Humankind)"
• David Altmejd "LE SOUFFLE", "L'OEIL"
• John Giorno "WE GAVE A PARTY FOR THE GODS AND THE GODS ALL CAME", "LET IT COME LET IT GO"
• Dominique Petitgand "TOUT EST BOULEVERSÉ"
• Mark Manders "DRY CLAY HEAD"
• Jean-Marie Appriou "HIVER, AUTOMNE, PRINTEMPS, ÉTÉ"
• Cameron Jamie, 9 sculptures de la série "SPINE STATION" 
• Hicham Berrada "MATRICE MINÉRALE", "ÉQUILIBRE SATURÉ"
• Ugo Rondinone "THE SUN"
• Sheila Hicks "PROSERPINE EN CHRYSALIDE"
• Tomás Saraceno "CLOUD CITIES : DU SOL AU SOLEIL"
• Anita Molinero "FLORAISONS POUR NOLLOPA"
• Oliver Beer "ACCORD /TACET"
• Louise Sartor “C’EST ESTRE FOU QUE N’AIMER RIEN”
• Rick Owens "UNTITLED"
• Stéphane Thidet "BRUIT BLANC"
• Cécile Minard "GRENOUILLES EN GRANDS MANTEAUX"
  
  

Audioguide

On site, the Gardens of Versailles app allows visitors to be guided through the whole exhibition, thanks to audio commentary (in English) from Jean de Loisy, President of the Palais de Tokyo and curator of the exhibition.

→ Available on theApp store and Google Play