Romance in the Stone: De la Roche à l’Œuvre” art exhibition at the Musée de Minéralogie Mines Paris – PSL from October 23
The Musée de Minéralogie Mines Paris – PSL and the Verrecchia Endowment Fund are delighted to announce the opening of the exhibition Romance in the Stone: de la roche à l’œuvre, which runs from October 23 to December 14, 2024.
Each year, the museum enriches its program of temporary exhibitions by offering a contemporary scientific, cultural and artistic perspective on the mineral kingdom. This new exhibition is part of this open-minded approach, initiating a dialogue between contemporary artistic creations in stone and the museum’s exceptional mineral collection.
Romance in the Stone: de la roche à l’œuvre brings together the winning artists of the Verrecchia Endowment Fund’s Matière(s) Grant, whose creations resonate directly with the museum’s mineral treasures, whether through color, form or materiality. Through this diversity of approaches, the exhibition explores the sensitive links between artists and the mineral world, and the fascination it holds for them.
Using their own unique languages, these artists reveal not only the creative and narrative potential of this material, but also its emotional power.
« La révélation cosmique des pierresi», Sandrine Elberg © Sandrine Elberg
« Homme soleil », Alexandre Onimus © Fonds de dotation Verrecchia.
A word from Eloïse Gaillou, Director of the Musée de Minéralogie Mines Paris – PSL:
“Preserved in its historic mid-19th century setting, the Musée de Minéralogie has the audacity to take on the modern world, welcoming contemporary works of art for temporary exhibitions.
For Romance in the Stone: de la roche à l’œuvre, a number of artists have turned their attention to a common subject: stone. Brought together by the Verrecchia Endowment Fund, these artists have demonstrated their skill in working with and interpreting this raw yet complex material.
The diversity of their works is perfectly in tune with the mineral diversity on display in the museum: shapes, colors, materials, intensities, subtleties, strengths – all of them reason with the mineral kingdom that surrounds them. The presence of these human creations in the museum even enhances the natural beauty of the minerals, which are also prized by collectors the world over.
Romance in the Stone: de la roche à l’œuvre is also a return to our roots. The artists use stone as a support, but also as a tool: here, rock is used as an olfactory, auditory and gustatory tool, through artistic works and performances. And let’s not forget the use of minerals for color and matter: pigment colors, iridescence, reflections, granulometries, all are exploited to give birth to new compositions.
At the interface between art and science, visitors to the Musée de Minéralogie gallery will discover worlds that intersect, mingle, challenge and converse. This two-month artistic interlude will punctuate the museum’s permanent exhibition and its temporary scientific and/or industrial exhibitions. For art and history enthusiasts, it’s a unique opportunity to discover this museum steeped in heritage and works of nature, which is a true source of inspiration.”
A word from Marie-Cécile Berdaguer, Director of the Verrecchia Endowment Fund:
“Every year since 2021, the Verrecchia Endowment Fund has invited artists from all horizons to explore the creative potential of stone. These residencies are veritable experimental laboratories where the art of stone reinvents itself and frees itself from traditional conventions. Under the guidance of the Compagnons du Devoir, artists, designers and performers unveil new uses for this age-old material.
The presentation of works by the winners of the Matière(s) Grant from the Verrecchia Endowment Fund at the École des Mines Mineralogy Museum – home to one of the world’s most remarkable mineral collections – offers a unique perspective. It allows us to discover the intimate dialogue between artists and the material, which can be seen in all its extraordinary richness and diversity within the museum, while opening the doors to a space where science, art and nature meet without hierarchy. The fascination with stones, omnipresent since the dawn of humanity, bears witness to their central role in our cultural and industrial history. As a mystical, utilitarian or reverie object, stone is one of the most precious natural resources that has accompanied our development.
The infinite properties, suggestive power and symbolic force of this material deeply engage our imaginations, particularly those of artists, who unfold fascinating narratives with it.
Among azurites, pyrites, agates, hematites, limestones and meteorites, Romance in the Stone: de la roche à l’œuvre brings together artistic explorations revolving around color, photography, material hybridization, assemblages and performance. Together, they reveal the narrative, emotional and aesthetic power of this captivating material.”
«Cadavres exquis minéraux. Expérimentations et recherches sur les pierres calcaires et marbres», © Chloé Valorso
The artists
The exhibition “ROMANCE IN THE STONE: FROM THE ROCK TO THE WORK” features works by Caroline Besse, Camille Corleone, Sandrine Elberg, Audrey Guimard, Emilie Yoko Hirayama, Chloé Jeanne, Marie-Pierre LE COCQ & Charlotte Hannah, Alexandre Onimus, Alexandra Roudière, Anna Ternon, Chloé Valorso and Marine Zonca.
« La révélation cosmique des pierresi», Sandrine Elberg © Sandrine Elberg.
« Composition », Émilie Hirayama © Chemsedine Herriche / Fonds de dotation Verrecchia.
Practical Information
- Musée de Minéralogie Mines Paris – PSL: 60 boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris 6e
- From October 23 to December 14, 2024
- Opening days :
- Tuesday, 10am to 12pm, then 1:30pm to 6pm
- Wednesday to Friday, 1:30 pm to 6 pm
- Saturday 10am to 12:30pm then 2pm to 5pm
- Closed Sundays and Mondays
- Price: the temporary exhibition is included in the museum entrance fee.
Guided tours of the “Romance in the Stone” exhibition
To enrich your experience, “cross-over” tours will be organized with museum staff. They will enable you to discover the links between these modern artistic creations and the museum’s mineralogical treasures.
Every Wednesday at 2pm, booking required at contact@fondsdedotationverrecchia.org
Round table “Mineral matter: crossroads between art and science”.
Saturday, November 16, 3pm:
The aim of this discussion is to better understand the bridges between art and science, and how the research of one feeds into that of the other.
Artistic performances
November 16, 2:30pm:
- Culinary design: Alexandra Roudière
- Music and dance: Marie-Pierre & Charlotte Hannah
“PRIMITIVA – Performance”, Marie Pierre and Charlotte Hannah © Fonds de dotation Verrecchia.
“Face au soleil, commémoration du soubassement”, Alexandra Roudière © Fonds de dotation Verrecchia.
About the Musée de Minéralogie de Mines Paris – PSL:
Created in 1794, the mineralogy collection of the École des Mines de Paris was then called the Cabinet des Mines, with the mission of gathering “all the productions of the globe and all the productions of the Republic arranged according to the order of localitiesi”.
From the outset, its aim was strategic, to identify nature’s potential resources with a view to their use in industry.
Today, it is one of the most comprehensive and spectacular collections in the world, with 100,000 samples in its collection, including 5,000 on display, representing over a thousand mineral species. In addition to minerals, the collection also includes meteorites, rocks, gems and artificial materials. The samples are the fruit of almost 230 years of collecting, providing an inventory of our planet’s geodiversity, while also demonstrating their strategic interest.
The collection is an essential support for teaching and research, as well as serving as a means of scientific and cultural mediation on these themes. These natural objects are also a source of artistic inspiration, in the image of Roger Caillois or George Sand. The museum welcomes artists and organizes art exhibitions, establishing a symbiosis between art and science.
About the Fonds de Dotation Verrecchia
The Fonds de Dotation Verrecchia is the philanthropic arm of the eponymous Verrecchia Group, dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the art and craft of dimension stone.
Natural stone is the prism through which the entity carries out actions of general interest, for education and practice, for the bonding and cohesion of territories, and for creativity without limits and without social determinism.
Since its creation in 2020 in the heart of Seine-Saint-Denis, the Fund has organized artists’ residencies to explore materials, financed tools to improve the quality of apprenticeships with the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, and reached out to young people to encourage vocations from elementary school onwards.
Thanks to its creation grants, craftsmen and artists are able to strengthen their respective visions and gestures, creating harmony between creativity and technique, without silos.