Max Ernst and Alexander Calder's Loire Valley studios open for AR(t)CHIPEL festival

The Loire Valley, known for its châteaux, also harbors a rich contemporary art history. In 1955, Max Ernst and his wife Dorothea Tanning settled in Huismes, near Tours, where Ernst reconnected with his pre-war Paris friend Alexander Calder, who lived in Saché. Calder had acquired a house in Saché in 1953, exchanging three works with Jean Davidson. He later built a large studio on the Carroi hill, completed in 1962, a 600-square-meter space with views of the valley. Since 1989, the Calder Foundation has run an artist residency there. In Huismes, Ernst created works including a fountain for Amboise (1968) and the artist book "Maximiliana ou l'exercise illégal de l'astronomie" with Iliazd. The AR(t)CHIPEL festival, from October 18 to November 3, 2024, opens both studios to the public. At Le Pin Perdu, the exhibition "1924/2024. Le surréalisme et après…" will be shown. Calder's atelier hosts an immersive installation by Sarah Oppenheimer. The festival previews a larger 2026 program marking the 50th anniversary of both artists' deaths, with loans from the Centre Pompidou, which has an agreement with the region since 2019. Other highlights include Martial Raysse's "La Grande Odalisque" in Orléans, Ernst's "La Grande Grenouille" at Musée Chinon, and monumental works by Jean-Michel Othoniel and Amleto Cataldi in Amboise.