'Interacting With History: Xavier Veilhan at The Mount'
LENOX, Mass. — Figurative and abstract sculpture, photography, kinetic sculpture, mechanical inventions and dreamlike video installations are the focus of a new exhibit at The Mount, opening Thursday, July 29. "Interacting with History: Xavier Veilhan at The Mount" explores how contemporary works relate to a historical environment.Veilhan, who lives and works in Paris, is one of the most prominent contemporary artists in France. He has had numerous solo exhibitions throughout Europe and the US, including those at the Kukje Gallery, Seoul (2010), Château de Versailles (2009), Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Torino (2008), Gering & López Gallery, New York (2007) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2004). His work is part of the collections of several European and American museums, and he has installed public projects throughout France.
"Interacting with History" includes eight works from private collections and the Gering & López Gallery in New York. Veilhan often makes art historical references while maintaining his own distinctive style. He is known for embracing generic or historically identifiable subjects – whether figures or objects – whose details he deliberately strips away using computer-aided technology, resulting in minimalist, geometric forms.
Veilhan consciously leaves his work open to interpretation, and is most interested in viewers' own personal reactions to his work. "This show is based on pieces interacting with an historical environment," Veilhan explains. "The sequence of rooms allows visitors to create their own response to my work, piece by piece."
Admission to "Interacting with History" is free with general admission to The Mount. The exhibition runs through the end of October.
The Mount, author Edith Wharton's estate, is located at 2 Plunkett St. For more information, call 413-551-5111 or visit www.edithwharton.org. For more information about Veilhan, visit www.veilhan.net.
