La galerie Nathan Chiche s'installe dans une école de Jean Prouvé

The article

On the IDEAT website, on 8 August 2024, Olivier Reneau presents the move of Galerie Nathan Chiche into the primary school designed by Jean Prouvé in Vantoux, on the outskirts of Metz. The text reproduces the article published in July 2024 in the magazine's special issue under the title “L'école des arts”.

The journalist recalls the career of Prouvé (1901-1984), an art metalworker who became a builder and designer and who, from Nancy, took part in the post-war reconstruction with his prefabricated housing solutions; he notes that the art market's interest in his creations helped to gauge the significance of his work. The school in Vantoux, one of the two prototypes designed in 1951, remained in use until 2014; the sale of the headmaster's house to a specialist dealer financed its renovation by the municipality.

A collector and the son of a gallerist, Nathan Chicheportiche responded to the call for projects with an exhibition space that keeps the building open to the public. The pieces by Jean-Pierre Raynaud, the first invited artist, play with the portholes and with the original desks brought out of storage. The gallerist announces four exhibitions a year, to be revealed one by one, specifies that the works are for sale, is considering inviting architects and designers into the playground, and has already set up a small bookshop in the former second classroom.

Read the article on the IDEAT website ↗