Museums & foundations

"From chaos to harmony” off exhibition of the Venice Art Biennale 2022

"From chaos to harmony” off exhibition of the Venice Art Biennale 2022

“From Chaos to Harmony” / Exhibition off – Vernice Art Biennale 2022

The first exhibition of SUMUS, the Venetian headquarters of the cultural foundation created by Hélène Molinari in 2020, opens on 8 April 2022 at the Fucina del Futuro: “From Chaos to Harmony”.

Open to the public from 9 April until 17 July, “From Chaos to Harmony” intends to explore the transformative potential of art thanks to the awakening of consciences through the works of three international artists : VAL – Valérie Goutard, Sébastien Lilli and Brigitte Moreau Serre.

The exhibition is based on the rich symbology behind the number 7: it evokes the progressive scale, the degrees of consciousness, the 7 skies (in Islam and in Christianity) and the 7 stages of the journey of initiation. As science and quantum physics remind us, the universe is also not limited to the four dimensions we know and live our daily life in, but also includes 7 dimensions that carry energy and information.

The three artists in the show will offer us three different and complementary illustrations that address the heart, mind and body in which the number 7 recurs : VAL – Valérie Goutard with her avant-garde sculpture in 7 sections entitled “From Chaos to Wisdom”; Sébastien Lilli with 7 videos extracted from his saga “From Chaos to Harmony”; and finally Brigitte Moreau Serre with her 7 sensory experiments.

Val’s sculpture is the 1:5 scale version of her masterpiece “From Chaos to Wisdom” that Val sculpted before embarking on the challenge of enlarging this monumental sculpture up to a length of 36 meters – being installed on a hill overlooking the city of Taichung in Taiwan and becoming one of the largest contemporary bronze sculptures in the world.

Val describes the inner and philosophical journey that an individual must take to move from the chaos of his subconscious to the wisdom of the state of consciousness through seven scenes :

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From Chaos to wisdom at the Venice Music Conservatory Benedetto Marcello in 2023

The Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Music in Venice, located in one of the most magnificent palazzos in the Serenissima, has decided to continue the exhibition of From Chaos to Wisdom created by Val for another year.

The inauguration of Val’s masterpiece took place on 20th of April under the patronage of the Sumus Foundation.

Val’s renowned sculpture is in perfect symbiosis and harmony in this temple of excellence, talent and virtuosity. The music and the sculpture vibrate in unison, creating a moment of intense introspection for visitors who can feel the philosophical journey described by the artist that each of us must undertake to move from the chaos of our unconscious to the wisdom of our full awareness. [ + ]

La Fête festival in Bangkok in May 2014

La Fête festival in Bangkok in May 2014

Inaugural speech of Ville fantastique II at Central Embassy
La Fête, 5th of July 2014, Bangkok

I would like to thank Central Embassy, Mr Chart Chirathivat (Chairman) and Ms Sirinij Chokchairittikul (Marketing vice-president) for welcoming us to “La Fête” with the installation of Ville fantastique II on its esplanade, Mr. Ambassador of France, who has done us the honour of presiding over this curtain fall which opens “La nuit des galeries” organised for the second consecutive year by Mr. Jeremy Opritesco, cultural attaché of the French Embassy, thank you and thank you to all of you who have given us the pleasure of being with us, it warms my sculptor’s heart.

In my work, if I had only one bias, it would be to have an art that is not politically committed. I am in favour of an art that is “quiet and restful”, to use Henri Matisse’s words, an art that proposes itself, that is not intrusive by a declared credo, but an art that is constructed with a free mind and that proposes a free reading. A direct art that does not need cultural or intellectual decoding keys but an art that appeals to the emotional sensitivity of each of us.

My work is simply about human. About the human in his life path, with his joys and trials; his questioning, his doubts, his expectations and hopes that mark his path, with his moments of solitude and reflection, his moments of friendship and love, his moments of action. All these moments of life converge in a personal quest to give meaning to our lives.

When art becomes public, the proposal of free reading is offered to all, the work of art becomes anonymous and becomes an opportunity for encounters between passers-by and the sculpture, a possible moment of pause in the frenzy of everyday life in the cities, a possible moment of exchange between the medium and the anonymous viewer.