Guided tour possible with LUMA Arles, BOOKING HERE

View of the residency, with contribution from Laura Owens and Asha Shechter

Project background

Ahead of Maja Hoffmann’s, President of the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles and Founder of LUMA, 2018 invitation for american artist Laura Owens to exhibit her work alongside Van Gogh’s, the American artist, having visited Arles as a teenager and several times in her life, deeply admired his intentions for communal living, and creating, in the French city. As she started to conceptualise exhibiting her work alongside that of the Dutch painter, and began reading Van Gogh’s correspondence, Owens developed an invested interest in the thinking behind his dreams of a ‘studio in the South’. Inspired by Maja Hoffmann’s vision for the LUMA Foundation in Arles, it was a natural step for Owens and Hoffmann to collaborate with one another and for the LUMA Foundation to to fund and delegate Julie Boukobza of Luma Arles to manage the Studio of the South residency located in a private house on rue du Cloître.

In 2020 Owens moved to Arles to begin working on her show with the Fondation, scheduled to open the same year, although postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. In a dialogue with LUMA, she then began to invite artists local to France to join her in Arles, whilst continuing to conceive the body of work that would eventually be exhibited at her show the following year. Over the summer Owens created handmade ceramics, elaborate site-specific mosaics, silk-screened curtains, hand-embroidered pillows, paintings, drawings and murals on the walls for the residence.

She subsequently invited 23 artists – collaborators, friends and pupils – to continue the project up to its conclusion in July 2023. During their stays, which ranged in length from a few weeks to several months, these artists lived and worked in the house, in most cases one after the other, although occasionally at the same time. The domestic environment of this house-cum-studio was thus shaped by the imprints that each person left behind. It was invested and embellished with multiple artistic contributions – drawings and paintings on the walls, installations in situ, texts, newspapers, collages, painted furniture – and animated by events programmed by the residents.

By inhabiting the house, the artists gradually transformed it into a global and collective work of art.
The house is open to the public until 31 August 2024.

Site-specific mosaics by Laura Owens. Photo: Annik Wetter

Charlotte Houette in the studio at the residence (spring-summer 2021). Photo: Adrian Deweerdt

Free admission all weekend for the European Heritage Days!
On this occasion, the Foundation welcomes you to (re)discover its spaces and exhibition with two special events.

Flash visits of the exhibition (in French)

Saturday, September 20:
10 am, 11 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
Sunday, September 21:
10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm

In just twenty minutes, our mediators Justine, Sara and Perrine will open the doors to Sigmar Polke’s singular and daring universe.
No booking required.

Focus on the building with Guillaume Avenard (in French)

Saturday, September 20 at 3 pm (approx. 1h15)

In line with the 2025 national theme highlighting architectural heritage, architect Guillaume Avenard (Fluor agency) will revisit the design choices behind the rehabilitation of the Foundation, eleven years after its inauguration in 2014.

The project placed light at the heart of the architecture, linking art and the city while paying homage to Van Gogh’s painting.

Booking required, online or at the ticket desk (limited to 25 participants).

Screenshot

Under her direction, no fewer than 40 temporary exhibitions have been presented within our walls, shaping a programme that is both rigorous and inquisitive, and always open to dialogue between Van Gogh and contemporary art.

Free admission — booking online or at the ticket desk
Book here

Vernissage de l’exposition “Mon cher… Urs Fischer” Photo : Hervé Hôte