Paris, France — This is a special world. A special world of forests and trees, a valley nestled in the western French region of the Vendée. This is the world of Fabrice Hyber being played out in an exhibition of some 60 of this contemporary French artist’s works at the Fondation Cartier. He works in diverse mediums and he created some 20 works specifically for the show which is entitled The Valley. And the Valley is a very real place, a forest planted by Hyber in 1993 when he sowed some 300,000 seeds from several hundred different species in the heart of the Vendean countryside surrounding the former property of his parents who were sheep farmers. 

« With the Valley, I first wanted to restore a wooded landscape around my parents’s farm so as to create a natural barrier with the surrounding industrial agricultural land. Whenever something is put into place, I look elsewhere to find alternative possibilities. This is systematic, » explains the artist who is a member of France’s Academy of Fine arts. 

A place of learning, experimentation and a refuge, the Valley has become the matrix and source of inspiration for all the artist’s work. Learning is key to Hyber’s approach to art and he regards his canvases as classroom blackboards. A single canvas also has words and phrases that he adds on or at times he glues objects onto them. He learns by doing, he says, and he wants to share this. The exhibition is in fact a series of « classrooms » and every day during the show classes are offered by guides specializing in various subjects ranging from measurements, the shape of fruit, the weather and sports and games. There are even cooking and design workshops. And on April 6th an evening of discussion and a tasting are on hand (by reservation only) exploring alternative methods of farming offering up innovative ideas to imagine the world of tomorrow. For tickets and reservations:  https://fondation-cartier.tickeasy.com/fr-FR/tarifs

The Fabrice Hyber exhibition is running until April 30th at the Fondation Cartier which is housed in a beautiful glass building designed by the architect Jean Nouvel and which can also be visited on set days. Weather permitting the snack bar is located in the Fondation Cartier’s unique garden. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. https://www.fondationcartier.com/en/