- Dates
- —
- Curated by
- Margit Rowell
Press Release
Marie Ponchelet Crypt
Fundació Joan Miró – Espai 13
13 October–27 November 1988
The Fundació Joan Miró kicks off the Espai 13 exhibitions for the 1988–1989 season with an installation by Marie Ponchelet.
Marie Ponchelet is a French artist who, following a family tradition she would soon abandon, began her career working with ceramics. However, in 1970, she moved to the countryside, where she discovered raw earth, which became the material for her artistic expression.
Ponchelet’s fascination with earth goes beyond just a physical connection. She is also drawn to its spiritual significance as a fundamental element of human existence. This connection manifests in her engagement with the earth – earth thrown against walls, retrogressive earth – and the manipulation she performs through gesture.
Concerned with the movement of bodies and volumes within spaces, Ponchelet brings this earth – so fascinating to her for its capacity to create new situations – into interior spaces, where she creates ephemeral installations and sculptures. This ephemeral nature is central to her work. Ponchelet believes that keeping a sculpture instead of dismantling it after the installation process prevents her from progressing. Furthermore, she cannot tolerate the degradation of her sculptures, not even the dust that gathers on them. For her, this ephemeral nature allows her to elude death; it represents freedom.
Marie Ponchelet tailors her installations to each specific space. Initially, the Espai 13 at the Fundació Joan Miró, which was darker compared to the rest of the building, presented a challenge. Yet, later on, she found that the same space sparked her interest and suggested a solution: “The asymmetry and distortions of Espai 13 at the Fundació Joan Miró made me think of Gaudí. (…) I envisioned hanging columns that would rise from the earth, pass through the ceiling and reach towards the light.”
The artist will be in Barcelona from 5 October to carry out the installation in Espai 13 at the Fundació Joan Miró. The opening event will take place on 13 October at 7.30 pm.
Other exhibitions held:
1979 - Terres jetées. Galerie Le Depót. Bourges.
1981 - Group exhibition Mémoire d’un mur. Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris.
1983 - Group exhibition Passages. Maison de la Culture. Rennes.
Depositio. Bonnefantemuseum. Maastricht.
1985 - Kunst mit Eigen Sinn. Museum moderner Kunst. Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts. Vienna.
1987 - La Ruée vers l’Art. Guerlesquin.
Barcelona, September 1988.
