As part of Nouvelles Renaissances 2022, the theme of the festival adopted by all the Monuments and Gardens of the Loire Valley, Château du Rivau presented an exhibition entitled Le Jardin, Miroir du Monde: The Garden, Mirror of the World, in English. The event was a dedication to the rose, the kitchen garden and autumn blooms, as well as the calendar of blooms of the botanical collections preserved by the Domaine du Rivau.

Gavin Turk presented Odyssey, a bronze trompe l’oeil of a lotus seed stem, painted in green and brown. Mimicking the appearance of the Lotus, a symbol of spirituality, the piece explores the journey of this plant that has become an emblem of purity over time. As with much of his work, the apparently-straight-forward appearance of the piece speaks to notions of value and authenticity in art and wider society.

The exhibition consisted of six chapters: le motif floral, le thème des oiseaux, Naturalia, le jardin intérieur, les femmes et le jardin ainsi que la préservation de la nature.

Le motif floral was presented in the first room of the château with works by Hugo Alonso, Julien Audebert, Mat Collishaw, Lionel Estève, Joan Fontcuberta, Robert Mapplethorpe, Satoshi Saikusa and Alain Sechas.

Le cabinet aux oiseaux displayed pieces by Bertrand Gadenne, Ernesto Nieto, Raphaelle Perria, Leopold Rabus and Jean-Luc Verna.

Naturalia featuring Gavin Turk’s Odyssey, was showcased in the Salle du Grand Logis with works by SUN Xue, Anna-Iris Lüneman, Julie Legrand and Renate Rabus.

Le jardin intérieur included works by Pierre Ardouvin, Thomas Houseago, Lamarche-Ovize, Paul Mignard and RU XIAO FAN.

Les femmes et le jardin showcased work by Katia Bourdarel Petra Coutright, Elodie Antoine, and Marie Denis among others.

In the gardens, Demain sera vert? featured ORLAN, DAESUNG LEE, Bianca Biondi and Markus Åkesson.

Balancing Blue Biscuit after Man Ray