Now showing at LUMA Arles: David Armstrong, Liu Chuang, Maria Lassnig, Philippe Parreno, and Tony Oursler
A closer look at the artists of the 2021 exhibition program
"I’ve been enabling or producing projects since the end of the ‘90s, collaborating with artists and institutions around specific projects. These have gradually become a collection which the public can discover as they make their way through the Parc des Ateliers.
Every one of the pieces is the product of an experience with each of the artists. These productions, some of which go back several decades while others are quite new, together form a continuity which opens up the way to further productions, thus building an accompaniment, a lasting relationship and conversations which are visible in the art works. Working closely with the artists over a long period also makes one a player in the greater ecosystem of the Art world. It’s a sector which has endured and ridden out the profound mutations which the world has undergone since the end of the 20th Century. Globalisation, technological innovations, the redefinition of roles in a world of culture heightened by geopolitical and economic issues, all of these have been expressed in contemporary creation produced over this period.
While I have been both a witness and a player in all of it, I have nevertheless had a feeling of dissatisfaction in the face of the fragmented nature of what, in my view, could have come together and been connected. I have asked myself about environmental issues and our relationship with Nature, about creation, human rights and dignity, about education… all of this in an effort to try and define more precisely the ideal conditions, place and environment which would allow artists—but also scientists, philosophers and the actors in our society formed by firms and people—to get together to exchange, to think and to act. I wanted to create a venue which offered a space and the necessary time for different languages and practices to converse, to open up new paths and bring about new perspectives.
In the beginnings of LUMA I used to talk about “a utopia for a cultural institution of the 21st Century” and Arles became the place to project this ideal. Later, utopia had to be shaped and confront the realities of the physical spaces, the ideas, and the means and structures available in society to make it all happen."
Maja Hoffmann
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View of the exhibition The Impermanent Display I.
Collection Maja Hoffmann / LUMA Foundation
Photo: © Marc Domage
Conversations with artists from the 2021 exhibition program
Artists on Their Artworks
Arles Through the Artists’ Eyes
In 2021, artists presented at LUMA Arles spent time in Arles to work, experiment, and develop their projects. Through their artworks and research, they offered singular perspectives on the city—each telling its story in their own way and opening up new ways to see and understand it.
Learn more about the artists featured in 2021
In 2021, the full opening of the Parc des Ateliers and the activation of the spaces inside The Tower were accompanied by the launch of an ambitious program reflecting LUMA Arles’ artistic, environmental, and social commitments.
A selection of images from the 2021 exhibitions
As part of the group exhibition Prelude
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
As part of the group exhibition Prelude
© Marc Domage
Three Generations: Works from the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation Collection
© Adrian Deweerdt
4e édition Prix Dior de la Photographie et des Arts Visuels pour Jeunes Talents
© Andrea Cenetiempo
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
© Marc Domage
© Adrian Deweerdt
© Adrian Deweerdt
Life After BOB: The Chalice Study, Ian Cheng
© Marc Domage
© Arthur Fouray


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