In April 2023, the Bally Foundation opens its doors in the sumptuous Villa Heleneum, nestling on the shores of Lake Lugano in Ticino. This architectural gem from the 1930s, surrounded by a lush garden, serves as the backdrop for the inaugural exhibition "Un Lac Inconnu".
In this extraordinary contemporary art exhibition, nature invades the interior space, creating an immersive experience that questions our relationship to the environment and to ourselves. Curated by Vittoria Matarrese, the new curator and former head of performance art at the Palais de Tokyo, this exhibition is a plunge into a fascinating world where works of art mingle and communicate with the beauty of the landscape outside.
The very title of the exhibition refers to Marcel Proust's "Le temps retrouvé", in which he describes the meticulous exploration of the human soul and the unconscious. By contemplating the works presented, visitors will experience a synchronicity, a shared vibration between their inner world and the external landscape.
Visible from the immense expanse of water, Mathias Bensimon 's work entitled "Le lac intérieur" is a monumental fresco covering the entire room, which is open to the outside world. Born of a meticulous study of the light present on a precise portion of the lake, he decided to translate it into a pictorial study at the very heart of the Fondation Bally. Using the traditional fresco technique, Mathias Bensimon has imagined a permeable zone between dream and reality, where sky and water merge perfectly to offer us an intimate and solar immersion.
This precise, patient work took several weeks to complete, using only natural pigments.
The exhibition highlights international artists such as Vito Acconci, Wilfrid Almendra, Caroline Bachmann, Oliver Beer, Angela Bulloch, Ligia Dias, Adélaïde Feriot, Karim Forlin, Tania Gheerbrant, Petrit Halilaj & Alvaro Urbano, Yannick Haenel, Rebecca Horn, Paul Maheke, Hélène Muheim, Mel O'Callaghan, Philippe Parreno, Elise Peroi, Constant Puyo, Emilija Škarnulytė, Haim Steinbach and Willa Wasserman.
Through their work, the Bally Foundation aims to highlight the diversity and richness of contemporary art.
Read the international press review of the exhibition launch here: Vogue Italia, Wallpaper, Numéro.
"Un Lac Inconnu", an exhibition on view until September 24, 2023 in Lugano, Switzerland.
