Promenades presents site-specific works in the grounds of the Lullin Park in Genthod, Geneva. Painters and sculptors have been invited to create pieces that are in agreement with the abundant natural scenery the park offers, including the views of the fountain of Mt. Blanc, the shores of Lake Léman, and century-old trees.
The opposition between art and nature plays a very important role in the history of Western thought and the notion of mimesis. Mimesis, what imitates and what is imitated, and the link between art and nature allow for another relationship to be considered. In their aspiration to approach nature as a source of subject matter, form, or material, the artists search for and realize an ideal: harmony as a relationship between man and the world; a “harmonious Mimesism.”
The works on display at the Parc Lullin focus on the harmonic relationships between art and nature. An exhibition that is largely dependent on an audience of sympathetic strollers, Promenades features sculptures scattered amongst the grounds of the park waiting to be discovered by musing walkers. A large arrow by Ian Hamilton Finlay pierces the trunk of a tree; Radeau, a small raft by Meret Oppenheim, floats in a hidden stream; and Mario Merz’s Il numero ingrassa (come) i frutti l’estate, e le foglie abbondanti. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, the most monumental work in the exhibition, features a progressive sequence of table pieces that appears to glide along the sloping meadow. Other participating artists include Vito Acconci, Joseph Kosuth, Giuseppe Penone, Meret Oppenheim, Rebecca Horn, and Gilberto Zorio.
Promenades was organized by the Centre d’Art Contemporain, Gèneve with the support of the DESTE Foundation.
