Turrell, Ackermann, Ballet Transform Valence Print Shop

During the six-year renovation of the Musée des beaux-arts et archéologie de Valence (2007-2013), the museum organized off-site exhibitions. In 2011, the venue was a former printing house (Imprimerie Céas) near the train station. The monumental space, with its impressive ceiling height, determined the selection of three artists: James Turrell, Franz Ackermann, and Élisabeth Ballet. Élisabeth Ballet's installation paired video of wind-stirred foliage with a white silk curtain moved by an invisible breeze. Franz Ackermann's Terminal Tropical (2008), featuring a palm tree, dominated the space; its back wall displayed dozens of photographs aligned with abstract painted forms, creating a moving cartography of contemporary exoticism. Ballet's sculptures Smoking & Brillantine (2011) and Road movie (2008) offered a distanced response, evoking contour lines on maps while deconstructing sculptural language. The exhibition concluded with James Turrell's Pink Mist, a white cube containing a luminous rectangle from which fleeting visions emerged, challenging perception. The show ran from April 1 to September 25, 2011.