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‘1974 – Past, Present, Future”: the Villa Benkemoun celebrates its 50th anniversary

By 24 July 2024July 26th, 2024No Comments

The Villa Benkemoun, a trans-generational family home and a landmark achievement by architect Emile Sala, completed in August 1974, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. To mark the occasion, it is hosting an exhibition entitled ‘1974 – Past, Present, Future’ from August 30th to September 29th 2024.

True to its mission of promoting modern and contemporary domestic heritage, Architecture de Collection is a partner and sponsor of this event.

© Diane Hymans

“Why this madness, this experimental house, these insane volumes, the curved concrete, the gigantic chimney made of metal tiles? […]

In celebrating the villa’s 50th anniversary, I don’t want to dwell on the past, but to write their audacity and their two names on the pediment of this house. And I would like to project the villa into a future that, in their wake, I would still like to imagine as radiant.”

Brigitte Benkemoun
Comment un rêve à pris forme(s)

© Diane Hymans

This new exhibition features a selection of works carefully curated by artistic director Raphaël Giannesini. Pop furniture by Joseph-André Motte, embroidered silks by Maurizio Vertrugno, photographs by Romain Laprade and evocative canvases by Marius Steiger will take over the organically flowing spaces of the villa, in dialogue with its remarkable architecture.

Maurizio Vertrugno, Miss Dior, embroidered scarf

Grande Tavolo d’Analisi, 1971-1972, Courtesy galerie fitzpatrick

“This walk through space and time will bring together visionary artists, plastic prophecies and radical thoughts that shaped the narratives and counter-narratives of the times to come. As a mirror image, it will invite contemporary artists and designers to question the legacy of this year through site-specific works, and thus to grasp the history of forms and the trajectory of a world whose future, today as yesterday, seems an idea yet to be invented.”

Raphaël Giannesini

Joseph-André Motte, Roissy Sofa & Table, 1972, originally designed for Roissy Airport, France

© Diane Hymans

© Diane Hymans

An architectural statement

Entirely restored by Thierry Demaizière in 2019, the Villa Benkemoun unfurls its curves and counter-curves within a landscaped estate of over a hectare, just a few kilometres from the centre of Arles.

Firmly Mediterranean and inspired by the energy and innovative spirit of the Trente Glorieuses, the house turns its back on the north to protect its inhabitants from the Mistral wind. The spaces develop in an uninterrupted dialogue between inside and outside, with terraces, patios and openings onto the garden. They are overlooked by a circular tower reminiscent of traditional Provençal dovecotes.

Emile Sala’s design is a hybrid of organic movement and Seventies modernity. He called on decorator Robert Heams for the interior fittings, and commissioned designer Max Sauze and ceramist Guy Barreff to create a unique sculptural fireplace and terracotta surround.

© Diane Hymans

© Diane Hymans

1974 – Past, Present, Future” exhibition
from August 30 to September 29, 2024

www.villabenkemoun.fr

Emilie Bloch