CHAMBORD.- At Chambord, Wang Keping is showing nineteen mainly large-scale sculptures, variations on the theme of the couple, very present in his work. Inspired by the duality of the great staircase at the centre of the château, Wang Keping gives his own vision of the duo, of twinship, of human duality.

Wang Keping has selected three oak trunks from the estate’s woodlands which he will carve directly in public, in the château’s formal gardens during his residency (from 28 to 30 October). These three new pieces will be displayed in the château courtyard.

"Great works of architecture are unique and unrivalled. They have in common a sense of beauty, a special charm, their humanity. At the heart of the Château de Chambord is the two-directional spiral staircase, a unique creation from Leonardo da Vinci’s imagination epitomizing the soul of the Renaissance.

Like the Mona Lisa, the double-twist staircase generates wonderful, never-ending reveries within us. Yet when an artist is to show his work at the foot of such a giant, he faces the challenge of finding a way to resonate with his master’s chef-d’œuvre.

I feel privileged and honoured to be invited to show my work here, but I also found it hard to choose pieces from my own work. The double-helix staircase kept turning in my mind. And then, one night, it became clear to me: I envisioned the two forms turning and entwining like a couple’s two bodies in a close embrace, just as the beauty of architecture and human nature harmoniously blend into one another. Beauty gives rise to feelings of love, and love is the essence of civilization.

Divine coincidence! For years, Couples were what I had been creating. They had been waiting for such a moment of pleasure! Some of them were invited to attend. What luck – now they would be able to meet at a ball in a royal château, each couple dancing day into night, and night into day alongside the great master’s chef-d’œuvre, to the melodious sounds of the Renaissance."

--Wang Keping

Exhibition curation: Yannick Mercoyrol, heritage and cultural programming director of the Domaine national de Chambord