Rémi Marcel Wins 2026 Prix Rubis Mécénat, Unveils Monumental Installation at Saint-Eustache

Key facts

• Rémi Marcel won the 2026 Prix Rubis Mécénat, a partnership between the Rubis Mécénat fund and the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris.
• The installation is on view at Église Saint-Eustache, 146 rue Rambuteau, 75001 Paris, from October 6 to November 29.
• The work comprises two column-like sculptures: a ceramic piece on the south side and a plaster cast of a destroyed earth sculpture on the north side.
• The south sculpture includes a soil bed with an irrigation system growing four ancient wheat varieties, watered twice daily.
• Visitors at the vernissage were invited to sow seeds, making the work evolving and participatory.
• Marcel, born in 2002, studied under Tatiana Trouvé and Laurent Esquerré at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and previously worked as a pastry chef.
• Curator Oulimata Gueye supervised the project, which references the Halles district's history as the 'ventre de Paris' and parallels agricultural and religious cycles.
• The prize, established in 2021, provides emerging artists with critical support and production aid; past winners include Dhewadi Hadjab, Hélène Janicot, Marc Lohner, Charlotte Simonnet, and Liselor Perez.