Champagne House Pommery's Art Legacy: From Louise Pommery to Contemporary Exhibitions

The champagne house Pommery, founded in 1858 by Louise Pommery, has a long-standing relationship with art. Louise Pommery commissioned sculptor Gustave Navlet to create bas-reliefs in the cellars between 1882 and 1885. In 2002, Paul-François Vranken acquired Pommery and revived the art program. Since 2003, the annual Expérience Pommery exhibitions have taken place in the 18-kilometer underground galleries, featuring site-specific works by artists like Daniel Buren, Tadashi Kawamata, and Laurent Grasso. The 15th edition was postponed due to the pandemic. In June 2021, a new museum space, Cellier Pompadour, opened with the exhibition "Blooming," showcasing 60 modern and contemporary artists including Paul Gauguin, Camille Corot, and Pierre & Gilles. The exhibition features 150 loans and two new productions, with a central installation by Barthélémy Toguo titled "Vaincre le Virus!" created in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute. The Cellier Pompadour, a 900-square-meter industrial space, will host future shows while the Reims Museum of Fine Arts remains closed for renovation until 2023.