Cover Matthieu Gafsou artwork inspired by nature and his artistic residency in the Champagne region
Matthieu Gafsou artwork inspired by nature and his artistic residency in the Champagne region
1 / 1
Tatler+
At the recent Art SG, Maison Ruinart presented a series of intriguing images by Swiss artist Matthieu Gafsou which showcased how pollution is affecting our environment
Since Maison Ruinart was founded in 1729, art and sustainability have been deeply rooted in its savoir faire. Producing great champagnes, after all, begins with respecting the terroir in order for vines to flourish, and transforming chardonnay grapes into fresh and elegant blanc de blanc (in the hands of the chef de cave) is art.
Throughout its storied history, the champagne house’s commitment to art and sustainability saw the Ruinart family commission Czech artist Alphonse Mucha to design its first advertisement in 1896; work with its suppliers to earn a certification in Sustainable Viticulture and High Environmental Value; debut an eco-friendly bottle packaging in 2015 (the first maison to do so); and launch the Carte Blanche projects in 2008.
The latter is an annual partnership with various artists, who are invited to an immersive experience in Reims, Champagne. Given carte blanche or a blank slate, they create original artworks that echo Ruinart’s message about sustainability and the environment, and their resulting masterpieces are showcased in some of the world’s major art fairs which Ruinart takes part in every year.
In case you missed it: Art SG 2024: Inside the fair’s VIP vernissage
Above Maison Ruinart Art Lounge
Maison Ruinart Art Lounge
1 / 1
“Art is the perfect vehicle to start a conversation,” shares Patrick Madendjian, the managing director of Moët Hennessy Diageo Singapore and Malaysia, who was in town recently for Art SG, Southeast Asia’s leading international art fair of which Ruinart was the official champagne partner. With the aim of taking the conversation about sustainability further, Madendjian elaborates that the Maison worked with award-winning Swiss photographer Matthieu Gafsou to exhibit his collection—dubbed ‘Cette Constante Brûlure de L’air’ (This Constant Burning in the Air)—in Singapore and Southeast Asia for the first time. The series of 15 mysterious and contrasting visuals displayed at the Ruinart Art Lounge took cues from nature and the artist’s time in the Champagne region.
Gafsou, who was at the official launch of Ruinart Art Lounge, tells Tatler Dining that he spent more than two weeks cycling in the Champagne region for inspiration. “It was a very hot summer in France,” he says, which is why his photographs showcase banal scenes like landscapes, a family on the beach, children playing in front of touristic landmarks, and nature juxtaposed with construction elements like cranes. Upon closer inspection, however, you will notice that something isn’t right with the pictures stained with crude oil, hence, the strange inky colours.
1 / 8
“The visual effect produced by these unlikely images reflects the consequences of petrol on our environment: a pollutant that is everywhere, not just in one place,” expresses Gafsou, who used hydrocarbon pigment to express that “contamination may not be always visible but it is brutally changing our environment”. But the paradoxical nature of these portraits is that the “dirt” gives the artworks an effect that is “beautiful and almost sublime”.
Fabien Vallerian, the art and culture director of Maison Ruinart who was also in Singapore for Art SG, tells us that the Maison was drawn to Gafsou’s works due to his “distinctly artistic approach that transcends traditional documentary styles”. Tapping into the traditional print toning method that uses chemicals to stain the photo (gold, copper or selenium was used in the past) and using crude oil instead, he has developed his own innovative technique that transforms seemingly simple photographs into vivid and striking narratives.
Read more: Winner of Singapore’s Best Sommelier title, Yeo Xi Yang, opens champagne bar Convivial
Above Award-winning Swiss artist Matthieu Gafsou
Award-winning Swiss artist Matthieu Gafsou
1 / 1
The road to Gafsou’s partnership with Maison Ruinart started when he won the annual Prix Maison Ruinart award in 2022. The accolade is given to up-and-coming artists who work on various mediums—be it photography, sculpture or paintings—who share the same vision as the Maison and whose creations resonate with its audience. Before Art SG, Gafsou’s works had been showcased at Art Dubai 2024, Photo 2022 Melbourne in Australia, Foto/Industria Bologna in Italy, Belfast Photo Festival in Northern Ireland, and Rencontres de la Photographie in France.
Previous winners of the prestigious award were Austrian photographer Simon Lehner, who depicted the champagne making process through archive images and black and white photos, and Elsa Leydier, and Congolese photographer Gosette Lubondo, whose ‘Expert Hand’ series immortalised her experience of making champagne in the region.
These initiatives about art and sustainability, adds Vallerian, strengthen Maison Ruinart’s place in today’s ongoing conversation. Madendjian says it best: “Art and sustainability are two of Maison Ruinart’s obsessions which started centuries ago… and we are responding with the times by working with special artists who share the same views.”
Credits
Images: Maison Ruinart
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
