For its new edition in partnership with Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome, Genius Loci is presenting in Paris, in a historic landmark of modern architecture, a series of “Roman” works by the interdisciplinary artist Benoît Maire.
The exhibition, curated by Marion Vignal, comprises a selection of paintings, sculptures, videos and furniture designs created by Maire during his residency at Villa Medici between 2021 and 2022. These works will be on view at the Ozenfant House, built in 1923 by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret for the painter Amédée Ozenfant, and open to the public exceptionally for this event. Conceived as a journey from Rome to Paris, the exhibition evokes a reflection on measurement and time, echoing Maire’s artistic process as well as the essence of this unique building, a veritable manifesto of the “new spirit” in architecture.
It is the very first of the purist constructions by Le Corbusier and Jeanneret, and the duo’s first creation in Paris, located across from the Montsouris reservoirs at the corner of Square de Montsouris and Avenue Reille.
Commissioned by the painter Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1966) from his friend Charles- Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier (1887–1965), the studio-house was built in 1923.
This studio-house embodies the artistic and intellectual bond between the painter and the architect, which began with their first reflections on purism and L’Esprit Nouveau, the journal that they founded with the poet Paul Dermée in 1920, dedicated to the concepts of order and geometric precision. Characterized by a monumental all-glass corner (roof and walls), the building is a showcase of Le Corbusier’s nascent modern style and experiments in form, in particular the free façade and open spaces. It exemplifies the architect’s idea of the simple, economical, rational and industrial dwelling. With the Ozenfant House, he introduced for the first time an “architectural promenade,” a pathway emphasizing elevation across the levels of human activity. This activity culminates in the studio, with its hanging library accessed by a narrow ladder.
Ozenfant lived and worked in the house until 1938, when he went into exile in the United States. He stayed in New York, where he founded the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts, until 1955. After his return, he lived the remainder of his life in southern France. From the first purist still lifes, his style of painting evolved over time toward a greater focus on atmospheric vibration and physical substance.
Born in Pessac in 1978, the French artist Benoît Maire lives and works in Bordeaux. After studying philosophy, he earned a graduate degree in art at Villa Arson in Nice, followed by a research residency at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. In 2010 he won the Ricard Foundation Prize and the CNAP Image/ Movement award, followed in 2017 by the Solo Prize at Art Brussels. In 2021–2022 he was a resident at Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome.
Based on philosophical concepts, historical texts and artistic references, Maire develops a polymorphous practice deployed in the form of lectures, publications and the curating of exhibitions. He nurtures his reflection on theory and its concretization through objects and texts, frequently collaborating with artists from other disciplines. For more than ten years, his process has focused on the question of measurement, proposing an allegory of philosophy as a relation of calculation between man and his environment. In 2016 he joined the Ker-Xavier architectural collective, producing scenographic projects and furniture designs for the label.
Benoît Maire is represented by the galleries Nathalie Obadia in Paris, Croy Nielsen in Vienna, and Meessen de Clercq in Brussels. His works have been included in the collections of the Mudac in Lausanne, the New National Museum of Monaco, the Académie de France, Villa Medici in Rome, the FRAC Île-de-France in Paris, the FRAC Aquitaine in Bordeaux, the Kadist Art Foundation in Paris, the David Roberts Art Foundation in London, the FRAC Franche-Comté in Besançon, the CAPC in Bordeaux, the Nomas Foundation in Rome, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the FNAC Fonds National d’Art Contemporain in Paris, the Fondazione Giuliani in Rome, the MAC/VAL in Vitry-sur-Seine, the Francès Foundation in Senlis, and the Vancouver Art Gallery in Canada.
Founded in 1666 by Louis XIV, the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici is a French institution located, since 1803, in the Villa Medici, a 16th-century villa surrounded by a seventeen-acre park, on the Pincio Hill, in the heart of Rome.
A national public institution under the authority of the French Ministry of Culture, the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici fulfils three complementary missions: to welcome high-level artists, creators and art historians in residence for one-year or shorter stays; to set up a cultural and artistic programme that includes all fields of the arts and creation and is aimed at a broad audience; to conserve, restore, study, its architectural and landscape heritage, as well as its art collections, known to the public.
The French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici is directed by Sam Stourdzé.
Ker-Xavier is a signature. Founded in Paris in 2011 by a group of graduates from the Paris-Belleville School of Architecture, Ker-Xavier engages with the lifestyles of a new century. Creators from the realm of the visual arts later joined the group to collaborate on projects at the crossroads of disciplines that often remain separate.
The Ker-Xavier studio creates furniture, porcelain pieces and textile works, in addition to scenography. Benoît Maire became a member of the architects’ collective in 2016, producing scenographic projects and furniture for the label.
Founded in 1953 by Osvaldo and Fulgenzio Borsani, Tecno Spa is an Italian furniture manufacturer. The company also develops interior design projects in collaboration with major international architectural firms like Norman Foster. Active in France, the label has set up its professional showroom in the Ozenfant Studio-House, built by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in 1922 for the painter Amédée Ozenfant.
The fine art insurance brokerage firm Appia Art & Assurance was born of a collaboration between Edouard Bernard and Hadrien Brissaud. Since 2015, the founding partners’ mission has been to offer insurance solutions tailored to the needs of their professional and private clients: galleries, auction houses, art dealers, restorers, private collectors, museums and institutions, fine art shipping services, etc.
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The fine art insurance brokerage firm Appia Art & Assurance was born of a collaboration between Edouard Bernard and Hadrien Brissaud.
Since 2015, the founding partners’ mission has been to offer insurance solutions tailored to the needs of their professional and private clients: galleries, auction houses, art dealers, restorers, private collectors, museums and institutions, fine art shipping services, etc.
Cultivating a passion for art, wine and classic automobiles, Appia Art & Assurance offers its policy holders made-to-measure services and dedicated management. The confidentiality, responsiveness and efficiency of its team members are the key to its close relations with its clientele.