In viticulture, the chai (wine cellar) is the place where vinification happens. These wine cellars are mysterious, silent cathedrals, these spaces accommodate a slow transformation. There, the wine endlessly evolves in the invisibility of the oak barrel. A wine cellar must guarantee three things: a stable temperature, a constant humidity, and a controlled darkness. The rest is pure art, decorrelated from vinification. Contemporary architectural art, advances in caves, raw or quality materials, these choices have no other goal than aestheticism. It is these unique places that allowed photographer Alexis Cottin to make these images, between grandiose and minimalist architecture.
Alexis Cottin, Chais
From November 9 through 26, 2017
La Galerie Passagère
6 avenue Delcassé
75008 Paris
France
