Dear Shaded Viewers,
L’ANNEXE at Casa mARTa has just opened for the season in Tournon Sur-Rhône, region of Ardèche, France. Conceived as a hybrid space where art de vivre, contemporary art and hospitality intersect, the project of L’Annexe has been curated by Géraldine Postel, whose vision transforms a simple stay into an immersive cultural experience.
DP: Based on the model of Casa mARTa, what made you want to create L’ANNEXE? My friend Fabrice Criscuolo launched Casa mARTa after a long stay in Barcelona, where his vision of hospitality and the art of living first took shape. We had worked together around twenty years ago in the lifestyle press and art publishing world, so it felt natural to reconnect on this project. I am very thankful that Fabrice entrusted me with the artistic direction of L’ANNEXE, conceived as a laboratory-like resort space where art and hospitality meet. It truly came in the right timing.
DP: L’ANNEXE is presented as a holiday retreat where art plays a central role. What was your initial ambition? I arrived on site in February. Fabrice and his team had already begun part of the structural transformation, reorganising the living spaces into three independent apartment suites designed to accommodate families and pets, with one suite per floor. Our first task was to immerse ourselves in the place, understand its spirit, and envision how it could evolve. It was an exciting challenge, very interesting to meditate , to make and watch it grow along, there was no space for mistakes, and I went on with the game, not without struggles, but it was mainly an emotional force that drove me for 4 months of construction.
DP: How did you approach the artistic direction of the project? First of all, I sat as far away as possible in the 1,200-squaremetre garden, beneath a mimosa tree that was just beginning to bloom. From there, I noticed a mirrored window set into a party wall. I took in the calm atmosphere and observed the building through its reflection before looking at it directly. This helped me imagine a coherent artistic narrative despite the diversity of the spaces: a suite for four guests on the ground floor, a suite for a couple and a toddler on the first floor, and a two-bedroom apartment on the top floor. With a maximum capacity of ten guests per night, complemented by a beautiful saltwater pool at the foot of the Saint-Joseph vineyards, L’ANNEXE offers an intimate and privileged experience.
DP: Here, artworks are not exhibited in a gallery but integrated into a living environment. How does this influence your selection of artists? I have always been both a loyal collector and curator. Most of the artists featured here are people whose work I have followed and supported for decades.
I prefer to see artworks living within unexpected spaces, creating a dialogue with visitors, rather than remaining confined to museums or collections where they are rarely encountered. I ran the physical gallery Outcasts Incorporated in Paris for more than four years and curated exhibitions in venues such as Galerie Mannerheim, Galerie Iconoclastes, the City of Megève, before launching my digital gallery, which freed me from the constraints of a fixed location. During the Covid period, I also created L’ Abri, an artistic space in the garden of my home village of Villerville in Normandy. It remains an active platform for artistic expression. I am convinced that art should be experienced both physically and virtually, allowing for a richer understanding and appreciation, rather than serving merely as a fleeting distraction during a cultural visit.
DP: How did the dialogue between architecture, colours, the garden and the artworks take shape? I began by defining a colour palette for the accent walls that would resonate with nature and reflect a journey from earth to sky: The Sage Suite, The Sun Suite and The Turquoise Suite.
DP: The artists brought together at L’ANNEXE __Pierre Huard, Eric Pineau, Marie Maillard, Jovana Ilic, Primo Bertoli, Simon de la Porte, Thomas Lélu, Nao Okawa, Bernard Joisten and Marc Thirouin—come from very different artistic worlds. What dialogue were you seeking to create between them? To fully immerse myself in the landscape and preserve the spirit of the place, I wanted to create a world where heritage, contemporary, digital art, and the garden coexist harmoniously. The artists’ practices range from blacksmithing and painting with Pierre Huard, photography with Eric Pineau and Marc Thirouin, and variations of digital drawings by Jovana Ilic , Bernard Joisten and Philippe Clémenceau, mixed with the sense of humour of Thomas Lélu and Simon de la Porte.
The curves of pacing lines of Primo Bertoli are complemented by Ephaï, a mythical artisan deity inspired by Hephaestus, designed by Nao Okawa and animated by Arnaud Pepin Donat. The curatorial project remains a living, evolving process. Additional artworks and interactive installations are still being added to enrich the experience for future guests.
DP: Can we speak of a collection, or rather a constellation of works united by a shared sensibility? Absolutely. The exhibition is woven from a network of references that converse throughout this late eighteenthcentury winemaker’s house. A recurring thread runs through the project: with an excerpt from memory of Erik Satie’s Gnossiennes n°3 the impression of this melody welcomes visitors; sealed doors open symbolically towards the sky in homage to Magritte; a coat rack references Marcel Duchamp; a display cabinet evokes the spirit of the curiosity cabinet; and each apartment includes a carefully curated poetry selection. Marie Maillard presents Unit 3300, an augmented reality work accessible through her app, revealing part of the mosaic floor of the Palais Garnier as a continuously unfolding graphic animation inspired by the Fibonacci sequence.
These books of poetry create a possible dialogue with our common perception of time and memory. For me, Poetry is probably the last language that can compete with new medias and Podcasts. Authors list is including Bruno Grégoire, Anne Segal, Audomaro Hidalgo, Robert Montgomery, Anne Labrousse and Philippe Salus, to accompany visitors through their recently published works.
DP: What role does colour play in your curatorial approach? Colour establishes the atmosphere and emotional identity of each suite.
Sage Suite Sage green symbolises natural wisdom. Rooted in the image of the sage plant, it evokes nature, healing, reflection and insight.
Sun Suite Sunshine yellow is a luminous and energetic colour associated with purity, optimism and transcendence. As a primary colour, it carries strong symbolic significance.
Turquoise Suite Turquoise blue, like the stone itself, occupies a special place in many cultures, symbolising wisdom, tranquillity and protection. P
DP: Does the garden, with its rich variety of perennials and shrubs, also contribute to the artistic experience? For me, the garden is a sacred space. Since my arrival, I have identified more than ninety species of flowers, shrubs and trees. Fruit trees such as pomegranate, cherry and apricot grow alongside irises of every colour, California lilac, lotus flowers and bottlebrush plants. The garden is also inhabited by a remarkable diversity of birds, frogs and toads whose songs mark the different moments of the day. It is a place of constant discovery and learning about the living world.
DP : What would you like visitors to feel when encountering the artworks during their stay?
A sense of peace, discovery and reconciliation—with nature, with contemporary art and with digital art.
DP: In your opinion, what does art bring to the travel and holiday experience? GP: It encourages us to slow down, to observe our surroundings more attentively, to fully inhabit the present moment, and ultimately to retain only its essence.
DP: Is L’ANNEXE a house that hosts artworks, or an artwork that welcomes visitors? GP: The visitors themselves are the main protagonists of L’ANNEXE. The theatre of arrivals and departures is as much a part of the work as Fabrice’s hospitality and the setting that welcomes guests on both côté cour or côté jardin. Together, they form a living artwork in constant transformation.
Plan your stay at L’Annexe and Casa mARTa
Schedule your stay with Fabrice Criscuolo www.casamarta.fr
Private Visits and VR experiences with Géraldine Postel are available by appointment only geraldine.postel@me.com or SMS +33 676780562
Later,
Diane
