Tomás Saraceno
King’s Garden Grove
Cloud Cities : du sol au soleil
In Tomás Saraceno universe, geometry of Nature becomes a structure dedicated to one signle message: finding a respectful place for humankind in its own world. In the King’s Garden Grove, his new aerial structure allows visitors to perceive the necessity for an overhaul of our modes of representation through the development of vital environmental awareness.
Presentation of the artist’s work by the curator of the exhibition
Cloud Cities : du sol au soleil
© EPV / Thomas Garnier
King’s Garden Grove
Located at the far west end of the gardens, the King’s Garden has been, a walled English-style garden since the reign of Louis XVIII. It is planted with diverse essences of exotics trees. Unfortunately trees were largely destroyed during the tempest of 1999.
About the work
The artist’s new aerial structure, both cloud and spider’s web, unveils perspectives that are otherwise inaccessible to humankind. In his work, he suspends mirrors in the air, like new images and potential reflections on our environment. In complete contrast to the constant struggle in which Louis XIV engaged against the elements, attempting to suppress any kind of organic growth, Saraceno wonders: how can we rediscover the world and regenerate our relationship with nature from a pacified, complementary standpoint? This creation of new perspectives on the King’s Garden Grove also allows the visitor to perceive the necessity for a profound overhaul of our modes of representation through the development of vital environmental awareness.
About the artist
Born in 1973 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, Tomás Saraceno lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Tomás Saraceno takes inspiration from spiders’ webs to create floating utopian architecture, and each of his sculptures is an embodiment of a life ideal. His reversal of the laws of gravity erases borders and territories. Saraceno searches through non-human modes of action and communication, exploring nature’s untapped possibilities, and in doing so, opposes the idea that humankind is the centre of the universe while nonetheless wishing to give the species a respectful place in the ecosystem to which it belongs. His most ambitious projects have been carried out in collaboration with prestigious scientific institutions, providing a pragmatic dimension to his utopias.