Speeches by the exhibition curators
René O, Commissaire, Festival international Factura 2010
"No art without truth" - Ben
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The abundance of art and truth is beneficial for health.
Sincerity, emotion, rigor, craft, doubt, patience, know-how, perfectionism, constancy in effort, knowledge of the past without imitation, truth. Already a few ears are pricked up, a few eyebrows are raised and raised. What! But these are old-fashioned, outdated, reactionary notions! Yes, it is true that we no longer find them in the pens of contemporary art "experts", who prefer concepts such as revolt, commitment (which one?), turmoil, rejection of tradition, flattening, provocation, anti-intellectualism, cult of the banal, the everyday, the ephemeral. And above all, but without admitting it, which push for the triumph of money, the one that serves as a standard and barometer to estimate the value of works. A clique with a mafia mentality that calculates and grants ratings (as on the Stock Exchange) to mediocre, empty, botched, pre-dilapidated works, which will be forgotten and thrown in the trash in a few years, but not before having first been copiously mocked. These works are in fact the products of a new triumphant academicism, which, supreme irony, adorns itself with the trappings of a completely out-of-breath avant-garde. While imperturbably artists worthy of the name and who have continued to respect the notions cited at the beginning of this text, created beautiful, interesting, profound, sincere works, and which force the admiration of those who have not been blinded by the false prophets. Lucian Freud, or Jean Rustin, for example, have persisted in producing quality creations, ignoring the successes of false artists manipulated by unscrupulous art dealers. Factura 2010, very fragmentarily, but very sincerely, wanted to make its little contribution to the destruction of this vast conspiracy that distorts contemporary art, by presenting " no-nonsense " works that the organizers find quite simply beautiful , interesting, almost timeless, and by hoping that visitors will want to follow them in this appreciation, and this approach, while knowing, of course, that the notion of beauty is subjective and a matter of personal taste.
Serge De Backer, Director, Factura International Festival 2010
2010 Festival Theme
The theme of the fourth Villefranche de Lonchat International Painting Festival, "in arte veritas", is of course an allusion to the Latin proverb "in vino veritas". If this nod reminds us that the Festival takes place in the heart of a vast wine-growing region, renowned for the quality of its wines, it claims above all to have another dimension: truth in art! Art as the expression of a possible truth and not the fidelity of its relationship to reality nor that of its obvious relationship to beauty which often tends to reduce it to a pure aesthetic game without depth, but to its interpretation likely to be judged true in what it reveals to us. If truth is indeed a relative notion, in art, it will allow us to exhibit works that respond to this complete adequacy between reality and our thought, with artists from various regions of the world, from various artistic movements, famous or not. More than twenty artists will be taking over various locations in the village of Villefranche de Lonchat in October 2010 to present their work.
René O, Curator, Festival international Factura 2008
"Each man bears the entire form of the human condition." – Montaigne
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Theme 2008: "Human Condition"
Même si la plupart des mortels continuent à raccourcir leurs pensées de peur de s’égarer dans les ténèbres de leurs surlendemains, appréhender les grands problèmes inhérents à la condition humaine reste une aventure intellectuelle passionnante, pour peu que ces problèmes soient dégraissés des préjugés du passé et du fatras des idées reçues et injectées dès la petite enfance. L’homme sait qu’il est voué à la mort, mais il veut échapper au temps. Il sait aussi qu’il est seul et qu’il le restera toujours, et c’est donc avec un certain désespoir qu’il part à la recherche de la solidarité de ses semblables. Il est libre et responsable de ses actes, mais tout en lui est également dépendance, car il n’a pu choisir ni son sexe ni le temps et l’espace où il est né, et ne peut que subir son destin personnel. Enfin, il est fragile, limité, prompt à se tromper, et pourtant il est taraudé par un idéal de perfection. En conséquence, pour se réaliser, pour trouver un certain équilibre, et peut-être un certain bonheur, il doit à tout moment relever des défis, tenter de résoudre d’énormes contradictions et cette grande énigme qu’est l’humaine condition. La lecture des œuvres des grands philosophes pourra l’y aider, mais hélas elle n’assouvira pas son éventuel besoin d’infini et ne le débarrassera pas entièrement de son inquiétude fondamentale. La philosophie et la littérature, ces grandes inspiratrices des dépassements humains, ne monopoliseront et n’épuiseront jamais les voies de la compréhension car il suffit de regarder les grandes œuvres de la peinture pour se rendre compte qu’on peut y puiser ce que d’autres arts et systèmes n’ont pas toujours apporté. Le choix, spécifique, du thème du Festival Factura 2008 et celui, rigoureux, des artistes-participants, qui vont l’illustrer, tendent à confirmer cette assertion. Aux visiteurs de juger. Alors qu’imperturbablement des artistes dignes de ce nom et qui ont continué à respecter les notions citées au début de ce texte, créaient des œuvres belles, intéressantes, profondes, sincères, et qui forcent l’admiration de ceux que les faux prophètes n’ont pas aveuglés. Lucian Freud, ou Jean Rustin, par exemple, se sont obstinés à produire des créations de qualité, en faisant fi des succès des faux artistes manipulés par des marchands d’art sans scrupules. ​Even if most mortals continue to shorten their thoughts for fear of getting lost in the darkness of their future, understanding the great problems inherent in the human condition remains an exciting intellectual adventure, as long as these problems are stripped of the prejudices of the past and the jumble of received ideas injected from early childhood. Man knows that he is doomed to death, but he wants to escape time. He also knows that he is alone and that he will always remain so, and it is therefore with a certain despair that he sets out in search of the solidarity of his fellow men. He is free and responsible for his actions, but everything in him is also dependent, because he could not choose his sex or the time and space in which he was born, and can only undergo his personal destiny. Finally, he is fragile, limited, quick to make mistakes, and yet he is tormented by an ideal of perfection. Consequently, in order to achieve self-fulfilment, to find a certain balance, and perhaps a certain happiness, he must at all times take up challenges, attempt to resolve enormous contradictions and this great enigma that is the human condition. Reading the works of great philosophers may help him, but alas it will not satisfy his possible need for infinity and will not entirely rid him of his fundamental anxiety. Philosophy and literature, these great inspirers of human surpassing, will never monopolize or exhaust the paths of understanding because one only has to look at the great works of painting to realize that one can draw from them what other arts and systems have not always provided. The specific choice of the theme of the Factura Festival 2008 and the rigorous one of the participating artists who will illustrate it tend to confirm this assertion. It is up to the visitors to judge. While imperturbably artists worthy of the name and who have continued to respect the notions cited at the beginning of this text, created beautiful, interesting, profound, sincere works, and which force the admiration of those who have not been blinded by false prophets. Lucian Freud, or Jean Rustin, for example, have persisted in producing quality creations, ignoring the successes of false artists manipulated by unscrupulous art dealers. Factura 2010, very fragmentarily, but very sincerely, wanted to bring its little blow of the pickaxe to the destruction of this vast conspiracy that distorts contemporary art, by presenting "no-nonsense" works that the organizers find quite simply beautiful, interesting, almost timeless, and hoping that visitors will want to follow them in this appreciation, and this approach, while knowing, of course, that the notion of beauty is subjective and a matter of personal taste.
Hélène Poisot, Curator, Les Arts Papiers 2008
A providential collection of initial artist impressions, sketches, travel journals, and snapshots, paper as both medium and material now offers creators grand or intimate possibilities. For the second year, galleries and art associations have come together to showcase the extraordinary richness and diversity of paper. Thirty-eight artists have chosen paper to express their worlds and dreams, with techniques ranging from etchings to serigraphy, focusing on original works rather than reproductions. "Les Arts Papier" brings together contemporary, free artistic expressions, united by this modest yet magnificent medium.