Damien Hirst exhibition takes over an entire château in Provence

This exhibition is a first for the wine estate that has been transformed into an open-air museum.

Transcript

00:00 The unique like of Provence has always inspired the great masters from Cézanne to Van Gogh.

00:06 Over the last 20 years, Château Lacoste, a vast 200 hectare wine estate, has been transformed into an open-air museum.

00:13 It's currently hosting a large new exhibition of work by Damien Hirst,

00:17 with dozens of sculptures and paintings entitled "The Light That Shines".

00:24 It's the first time an artist has been in charge of all the exhibition venues, so five.

00:30 He also works in the gardens of the domain and in the park, with a sculpture behind me, "The Monk".

00:35 Damien Hirst is the British artist of international renown that everyone knows.

00:40 So it goes from totally unprecedented series that we have never seen,

00:44 to more classic series of his work, like "Natural History"

00:48 and "Animals in Formol", which made it famous in the early 90s.

00:53 Famous pieces such as "Natural History" can be found in the Renzo Piano building, built in the vineyards.

00:59 The secret garden paintings are in the Bastide Gallery,

01:05 while "The Empresses" is exhibited in a building in the middle of the woods.

01:12 Architecture is a medium, I don't know if you can call it a medium,

01:17 an art that is very important in the domain.

01:20 The first art work that was installed was the "Chaises de Genouvel",

01:23 the French architect.

01:25 Then came Tadda Wando, who is behind me, Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Oscar Niemeyer.

01:32 They all made places a little different.

01:36 Often they are pavilions that are quite humble,

01:41 which allow to host other exhibitions and therefore other artists.

01:44 Linking the land of Provence, its vines and its light,

01:47 the estate in the heart of nature is the perfect setting for works of art.

01:51 Damien Hirst's "The Light That Shines" can be seen at Château Lacoste until June 23.

01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]