Happy like Sisyphus
From May 12 to october 15, 2011
Presentation
At the Estate of Garenne Lemot, four French and Quebecois artists take part, starting May 12, in a unique creative experience focusing on the repetition of a gesture.
One exhibition, four resident artists. Starting May 12, 2011, the departmental Estate of Garenne Lemot hosts “Happy like Sisyphus”. The artistic project will continue until October 2011 and puts together four artists who work on the theme of a repetitive gesture. They study the artistic creation process as the result of repetitive and similar movements, thus reducing art to a simple and eternal return to the identical. Their work is a reminder of Sisyphus, a mythological hero who was condemned by the Olympian Gods to eternally push a rock to the top of a mountain and see it fall again as it reached the top.
Albert Camus once said that “one must imagine Sisyphus happy” because he finds satisfaction in doing something this absurd for eternity. His satisfaction comes from the repetition of the act rather than its result. “Happy like Sisyphus” sees creation as a repetition and – perhaps – forgetting the gestures. Works of art are thus the stubborn and persistent repetition of identical movements.
Four French and Quebecois visual artists are gathered at the departmental Estate of Garenne Lemot for this long-term artistic experience: Valérie Kolakis, Jérôme Fortin, Régis Perray and Jean-Guillaume Gallais. “Happy like Sisyphus” will invite the artists to work on the project with a round table organized on June 4 and 5. Visitors will have a chance to see the artists at work and talk with them in the Lemot villa. Then, the result of their two-month work will be showcased from June 30 to mid-October.
