This is a must-see building in Arles, on Avenue de la République. A large, dark door with two colonnades coiled like two large serpents. Behind it: the Hôtel de la Lauzière, abandoned for nearly sixty years. Four new owners, including Nathaly Capelle and Jean-Florent Mendelbaum, originally from Paris, as well as gallery owner Anne-Laure Buffard and François Gagey, have set their sights on this emblematic building and decided to turn it into a cultural venue. While renovation work has not yet begun, a partnership with Louis Vuitton has made it possible to hold a first exhibition of Nhu Xuan Hua’s work for the Rencontres d’Arles.
Thus, some twenty images are displayed, hanging on aging walls with old-fashioned wallpaper, contrasting sharply with the outdated dimension of the place. Nhu Xuan Hua explains that he wanted to portray his “family of heart” by replaying the codes of the family photo. His process consists of inverting the color of the photograph, leaving us as spectators of the negative. “For me, it was important to make the faces anonymous so that the visitor could project themselves into them. I wanted to create a distance from the brutality of the intimate,” explains the artist. Celebration scenes such as birthdays and Christmas parties were therefore recreated within the walls of the Hôtel de la Lauzière, especially for this project.
The Monoprix exhibition space features the artists selected for the Louis Roederer Discovery Prize. Some of the pieces are particularly interesting, including Heba Khalifa’s work entitled ” L’Œil du tigre “. A series of powerful collages highlighting the suffering of a victim of sexual abuse. Alongside this, photographer Julie Joubert dissects the masculinity of the Foreign Legion in her project “Patria Nostra,” revealing a singular sensitivity behind the stripes.
A different atmosphere awaits at the Manuel Rivera Ortiz Foundation, where artists explore the concept of “spells.” Visitors encounter everything related to shamans and ritualized magic. Upstairs, an exhibition organized by Freelens & Hamburg Portfolio Review offers a glimpse into life in Germany and its diverse societal realities.
Jean-Baptiste Gauvin
Arles 2025 : Disobedient Images
56th edition is from july 7 to october 5.
Opening week is from july 7 to 13.
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions
https://billetterie.rencontres-arles.com/prestation/Expositions.html?process=2#
