With
some 650 works, plus the substantial Pereire estate, the Frac des Pays de
la Loire’s collection has been built up since 1982, for the most part
according to a principle of buying the work of young artists living in the
region, in France, or abroad. The totality of the work gathered together
over a 15 year period reflects the diversity of contemporary creation. The
Frac made the decision to take into account present-day art at its most
innovative, combining the purchase of new discoveries with, less frequently,
the acquisition of historically recognised works. Naturally, this philosophy
entails a certain eclecticism; across the years however, particular directions
have appeared: a particular interest for artists who have led a reflexion
on the modalities of the work’s formation, on that which grounds it
in respect of the artist’s relation with the world, with nature, with
her or his urban or social context. More precisely, there is the relationship
with the landscape, the importance of the body, the interest shown by the
artist towards her or his own image, and the primacy of language through
the sign or the word.
At the Carquefou site, the Frac organises several monographic or thematic
exhibitions each year which allow, in the perspective of the collection,
an access to international present-day art. It is also muliplying its regional
activities through increasingly solid and diverse partnerships (around 20
each year). This programme is accompanied by an editorial policy centred
on the publication of artist’s books and exhibition catalogues.
The collection can equally be seen by way of works placed in other institutions
(museums, arts centers) and by way of loans to contemporary art events in
France and abroad. |
