"In the song of the lark
In the morning with my faithful wheelbarrow"
One day in April 1879, returning from his daily tour of rural France, mailman Ferdinand Cheval stumbled on a stone so bizarre that it reminded him of a dream that was gradually being forgotten, like a memory just beyond his imagination. He spent 33 years of his life modelling, night after night, that monument of reverie…
Independent of all artistic trends and not subject to any architectural technique, the Palais Ideal du Facteur Cheval is the illustration of naive architecture and art brut. Defended by André Malraux, the Palace was listed as a historic monument in 1969. Ferdinand Cheval has been the source of inspiration and homage to many artists from the surrealist movement including André Breton, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Niki de Saint Phalle.
From 14 September 2019 to 5 January 2020 this unique location will host THE WIND AND THE BIRDS ENCOURAGE ME an exhibition that pays tribute to Ferdinand Cheval, whose dedication and meticulous observation of nature gave him the ability to transport us into other worlds. Today, the works of Kate MccGwire, Rebecca Horn, Ali Cherri and Jean-Luc Mylayne offer a new poetic vision of his dream that has crossed all cultures and ages: ‘to rise, to be light, to be carried by the winds’.
TRANCE, 2018, Kate MccGwire
THE WIND AND THE BIRDS ENCOURAGE ME
Rebecca Horn, Kate MccGwire, Ali Cherri & Jean-Luc Mylayne
Palais Ideal du Facteur Cheval | Hauterives, France
14 September 2019 - 5 January 2020