PARIS.- Robilant+Voena is hosting their second exhibition of the St. Moritz season, Bleu Pastor, featuring works by the Monegasque artist Philippe Pastor, in partnership with the Fondation Princesse Charlène de Monaco. Pastor is the only artist to have represented the Principality of Monaco on an international stage, both at the Venice Biennale (2007, 2009) and at the Expo 2015 Milan. Running concurrently with the exhibition is an installation of the artists signature sculptures, Les Arbres Brûlés, at Suvretta House, a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the main town of St. Moritz.
Taking place in the historic setting of the Forum Paracelsus, a former religious and healing institution built upon the fountain of the famed mineral springs at St. Moritz, Bleu Pastor brings together over 15 new and recent paintings that demonstrate the artist’s explorations within the colour blue, as well as five sculptures from his Les Arbres Brûlés series. Together, these artworks encapsulate Pastor’s passion for the environment, underlining the mission that is at the core of his practice, and of his life. These paintings, representative of his wider oeuvre, act as an urgent reminder of the precarious state of our planet, a call for action to take responsibility for man’s impact on the natural world.
The creation of the artist’s monochrome and highly textured paintings – made from raw pigments mixed with bespoke adhesives – is fundamental to the messages they carry, of the need for man to work in harmony with nature. Making these works is an extensive process, which incorporates elements of Pastor’s meticulousness with the unpredictability of natural forces. Each canvas can be interpreted as an artistic embodiment of the four elements – fire, wind, earth and water. The fabrication begins with the sourcing of the materials for these works, natural pigments that are specially selected by the artist in the mountains of Morocco, symbolising the richness of the resources of this planet. Pastor himself then makes the adhesive substances with which he applies these pigments to his canvas, mixing his own glues, refined through a painstaking and experimental process. Alongside layers of pigment, the artist also uses fire and water to shape the appearance of the work; often, he will leave the almost-complete canvas outside his studio for a period of time, exposing the surface to the forces of weather and chance. In doing so, Pastor cedes creative agency to the natural environment, imbuing his paintings with a sense that all is not within the control of man.
Bleu Pastor is formed of three main rooms; the first and second immerse the visitor in the light and atmosphere created by the colour blue, with canvases of various sizes and textures from the Bleu Monochrome series, encouraging a sense of awe, but also of meditation. These paintings, with their vibrant hues and surface fissures may evoke the purity of the oceans, or indeed the increasing threats to these ecosystems. The third room is dedicated to another issue that is a pressing concern for the artist: the melting of the sea ice. Four large canvases surround the viewer, creating an inescapable sense of motion, the transformation of something beautiful into a threat that cannot be ignored. Alongside these paintings, examples of Les Arbres Brûlés stand like memorials to forests lost through man’s actions, revealing the extent on humanity’s devastating impact on the planet. The largest piece in the exhibition, North Pole (2020), a painting over 3 metres wide, is a dramatic climax that resonates with the mountainous landscape of St. Moritz, hoping that the viewer will reflect upon the significance of these paintings long after leaving the galleries.
Philippe Pastor (b. 1961, Monaco) is an artist whose wide-ranging practice encompasses painting, sculpture and mixed-media techniques. A determined advocate for the preservation of nature, Pastor uses his art to promote awareness and inspire action in support of environmental causes. His signature paintings are abstract compositions formed of natural pigment and other raw materials; his acclaimed sculpture series Les Arbres Brûlés (The Burnt Trees) evokes the devastation of forest fires and deforestation. Through these bodies of work, the artist seeks to convey an important message about the relationship between man and nature, emphasising the responsibility of mankind to protect our planet for future generations.
The only artist to represent the Principality of Monaco on an international stage, both at the Venice Biennale (2007 and 2009), and as the official artist of the Monaco Pavilion at the 2015 Expo in Milan, Pastor uses his art as a platform to shine a light on pressing climate issues. He has collaborated with the United Nations as part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through his support and participation in the Project ‘Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign’.
Also with the UN, Pastor has installed Les Arbres Brûlés at environmental conferences across the globe, including in Singapore, New York and Monaco. A symbol of the fight against man’s destruction of the natural world, examples of this series have been installed in significant international public places, including at the United Nations African headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya (2006–present); Nice Côte d’Azur, International Airport (2006–2016); Château des Marres, St. Tropez (2011–22); Gare de Montparnasse and Gare du Nord, Paris (2014–15); Sacha SOSNO Garden, MAMAC Museum, Nice (2019–20); and Saint-Paul de Vence (2022).
Other recent solo exhibitions include Comment Va Le Monde, Baux-de-Provence, France (2023); Philippe Pastor, Fin du Monde, Monaco Modern’Art, Monaco (2021); Philippe Pastor, Est-ce que ce Monde est Sérieux ?, Musée de Bormes-les-Mimosas, France (2020); Philippe Pastor, La Vie en Rose, Monaco Modern’Art, Monaco (2020); Philippe Pastor, Est-ce que ce Monde est Sérieux ?, Monaco Modern’Art, Monaco (2019).
In addition to his exhibitions and installations, Pastor is the founder of Art & Environnement Association. Launched in 2007 under the patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Professor Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the Association organises art exhibitions and events to promote broad public awareness on climate change and the threats facing the planet.
With his artistic practice and advocacy work that stretches back twenty years, Philippe Pastor has established himself as one of the leading artist-campaigners of today, committed to the fight for and preservation of our planetary heritage.
Bleu Pastor is part of R+V's St Moritz 2023-24 Season which also includes a solo exhibition by Minjung Kim, on view at Forum Paracelsus until 28 January, and an exhibition of 20th-century masterworks from private collections, late January until early March, at the Protestant Church, via Maistra.
R+V’s long-standing association with St. Moritz stretches back several years; from 2014 until 2020, Robilant+Voena had a gallery space in the town, and has held several significant exhibitions during the winter seasons, including Harumi Klossowska de Rola in conversation with 20th-Century Masters (2023); Fontana and the Gothic (2022); Damien Hirst, Mental Escapology, the first exhibition of the artist’s work in Switzerland (2021); Les Lalanne (2020); Sean Scully. Aeternum (2020); Ettore Spalletti (2019); Calder, Fontana, Morandi (2019); Minjung Kim (2018–19); Alighiero Boetti (2018); Italian Post-War Sculpture (2017–18); and Lucio Fontana (2015–16).
