Les Cimes de l'Asphalte exhibition by Duy Anh Nhan Duc at Espace Richaud - our photos

Trees and nature, a new art form for a committed work... This is what theEspace Richaud in Versailles is offering you with the exhibition Les Cimes de l'Asphalte, by artist Duy Anh Nhan Duc, from October 25, 2024 to January 26, 2025. The exhibition puts forward a profound reflection on our relationship with trees, through a series of installations and works that question the place of plants in our urban environment and explore the memory of trees and the ties we maintain with them.

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The exhibition begins with the installation"Hissons les frondaisons", a series of tree-dyed canvases suspended in the south gallery. These canvases reflect the imprint of nature, capturing the memory of trees through plant dyes. Here, Duy Anh Nhan Duc deploys a process in which each tree, whether catalpa, cherry or walnut, tells a story through its colors and textures. The tree, which is always dead when collected, doesn't just provide the wood for the work: its entire essence is used to create dyes and paint pigments, offering a complete use of the material to tell a complete story.

The major installation under the dome of theEspace Richaud, entitled"Les cimes de l'asphalte", evokes the fate of the fir tree, a symbol of celebration often relegated to the rank of waste once the festivities are over. Meticulously sculpted, the nine-metre tree bears witness to the cycle of tradition and the metamorphosis of the tree in modern society.

The exhibition also highlights the work of Clémence Danon-Boileau, a photographer who has followed the artist throughout the creation of her works, and offers another major work, a"resinotype" (cyanotype made from the resin of the tree, without silver salts) representing a fir tree on concrete, in resonance with the Cymes de l'Asphalte and echoing the Christmas tree abandoned on the sidewalk after Christmas.

A must-see exhibition at Versailles!