A TRADITION OF PATRONAGE

At the beginning of the twentieth century, France-Lanord & Bichaton played an active role in the development of the Nancy School, an Art Nouveau movement. Using innovative methods and cutting-edge techniques, such as the use of reinforced concrete from 1895, the company produced most of the masterpieces of the Nancy Art Nouveau movement together with talented artists and architects such as Louis Majorelle, Joseph Hornecker, Emile André and Lucien Weissenburger.

France-Lanord & Bichaton participated in all of the exhibitions of the architect and designer Jean Prouvé, who was also from Nancy. In 2009, as part of the Prouvé Year, the company collaborated with the École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Nancy to create a giant-sized wooden version of one of Prouvé’s iconic chairs, which is now at the Iron Museum in Jarville.

In 1999, the company supported the commemoration of the Nancy School’s centenary, and more recently it supported the event entitled “Renaissance, Nancy 2013”, through the “Smart Loukoum” project run by the École d’Architecture de Nancy.

YESTERDAY,
PATRON OF THE NANCY SCHOOL.

2009 – Placing of the large stone pillars of the gate on Jules Dorget Square. The gate, which was created by Emile André, was initially positioned at the entrance to Saurupt Park at the beginning of the 20th century.

TODAY,
AN ACTOR IN CONTEMPORARY CREATION.

2009 – Creation for Jakob and MacFarlane of a “Christmas Tree” for the “One architect / One company” prize awarded by the Maison de l'Architecture de Paris

INNOVATION FOR CONTEMPORARY CREATION

France-Lanord & Bichaton regularly collaborates with artists and designers through exceptional services, innovative processes and loaning of skills.

In 2014, France-Lanord & Bichaton was selected along with four other companies for the Art & Enterprise programme run by the Ministry of Culture and Communication in partnership with the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and the Digital Sector – a project supported by ENSA in Nancy and DRAC in Lorraine.

Cristina Escobar in residency

During her year-long residency at the company, Cristina Escobar, an artist of Cuban origin, created a spectacular installation entitled “The Housing Estate” which was exhibited at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy in 2015. The work, made up of twenty full-scale black tents which are all unique, evokes the social situation of the most disadvantaged people in the arrondissements of Paris.

To create the twenty tents, innovative and complex processes (3D design) were used and a truly collaborative platform was created in order to tackle the technological challenges that had to be overcome. The tents were created from layers of polyurethane (outer shell) through the process of strato-design and worked by means of 5-axis machining techniques, and fibreglass (inner shell).

2015 - Cristina Escobar - “Mirages” exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy - © Courtesy of the artist

A COMMITMENT TO THE ARTS

France-Lanord & Bichaton is a member of the Tokyo Art Club (TAC). The Palais de Tokyo, which is one of the biggest sites dedicated to contemporary creation in Europe, invites artists of all generations to work on its building. These in-situ works appear on a wall, windows, etc. and are renewed regularly. Right now, under the title of “Anemochories”, the Palais de Tokyo is bringing together these works which resonate with each other from one space to the next.

View of the forecourt of the Palais de Tokyo – © Florent Michel / 11:45

ART NEWS

Sweat of a star - Charbel-joseph H. Boutros and Marie-Agnès Gillot

Charbel-joseph H. Boutros collected sweat from the star dancer Marie-Agnès Gillot after she danced Ravel’s Bolero. The fluid is being kept in the dark heart of a sphere of black stone fixed onto the roof, which can be seen from the forecourt of the Palais de Tokyo.

Artist: Charbel-joseph H. Boutros was born in 1981 in Lebanon. He lives and works in Paris and Beirut.

Work: It is made up of two hemispheres of blue granite. France-Lanord & Bichaton helped the artist with the cutting and shaping of the work and the choice of raw material. This work was created during the artist’s residency at Pavillon Beuflize OBC, the Palais de Tokyo’s creation laboratory, and thanks to the loaning of skills by France-Lanord & Bichaton.

Exhibition: Palais de Tokyo, 2016.

2015-2016 - Charbel-joseph H. Boutros - Vial containing the sweat of Marie-Agnès Gillot - © Laurent Philippe

Inland sea - Rodrigo Braga

For his first personal exhibition in France, Rodrigo Braga is placing his work in the pond on the esplanade between the Palais de Tokyo and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. His monumental installation in the heart of the capital city reveals tangible traces of the prehistoric sea that covered the area 45 million years ago.

Artist: Rodrigo Braga was born in 1976 in Brazil. He lives and works in Rio de Janeiro.

Work: The artist Rodrigo Braga spent two weeks in France-Lanord & Bichaton’s studios. The company helped with the selection of the 40 cubic metres of stones, which were chosen directly in the quarries of the Meuse by the artist himself. The largest blocks of stone weigh up to 6 tonnes and the lightest ones weigh 500 kg. The artist was supported by a master stone-cutter and the best stone-cutting worker in France, Manuel Cella, who was assisted by two other stone-cutters. In France-Lanord & Bichaton’s studios, they worked to encrust the stone blocks with several fossils which were inlaid into the stone blocks and overlaid on top of them. The stone blocks were then installed on the forecourt of the Palais de Tokyo by four stone-cutters in the exact configuration chosen by the artist. The patron of this production is SAM Art Projects with support from Bouygues Bâtiment Île-de-France, France-Lanord & Bichaton and Rocamat.

Exhibition: Palais de Tokyo, 2016.

2016 - Rodrigo Braga - Fossils being inlaid in the studio – © DR

2016 - Rodrigo Braga - View from the Esplanade – © Courtesy of the artist

Pierre - Abraham Poincheval

The artist Abraham Poincheval is notable for his solo performances in which he pushes his physical and mental limits. At the Palais de Tokyo, in a performance entitled “Stone”, he is making the first-ever attempt to live inside a rock for a week.

Artist: Abraham Poincheval was born in 1972 in France. He lives and works in Marseille.

Work: Three stone-cutters were engaged to work for nearly 300 hours in France-Lanord & Bichaton’s studios. The company helped the artist to choose the limestone rock, a monolith made up of 15 tonnes of Savonnières stone from the quarries of the Meuse. The stone was then “slimmed down” to reduce its weight and give it the shape of a cave, which was cut down its centre into two blocks each weighing 3.5 tonnes. After drawing the artist’s body in full size, the company’s stone-cutters hollowed out the two blocks of stone to create an internal compartment enabling the artist to slip inside for his performance. France-Lanord & Bichaton was both the co-producer and patron of this work.

Exhibition: Palais de Tokyo, 2017.

2017 - Abraham Poincheval - View of the work opened up after the artist’s performance © Courtesy of the artist