The renowned French contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel has created a site-specific commission titled Îles Singulières for Château La Coste in the city of Aix-en-Provence, a French vineyard and a celebrated venue for contemporary art, on view through November 22, 2019. Known for his organic works that depict the vitality of nature through material, Othoniel has explored a diverse range of mediums including sulfur, wax, and glass, all of which are inherently reversible and reflective. Following the artist’s extensive and devoted research on materials, in this project Othoniel presents two large-scale installations within the international Italian architect Renzo Piano’s newly conceived linear architecture for Château La Coste.

Of Othoniel’s installations, the viewer first encounters La Ligne Infinie, a 60-meter-long brick wall composed of glass and steel bricks in which one can imagine water flowing through it. This extraordinary linear configuration works in conversation with the architecture and site conceived by Piano. Following the end of long brick wall, the viewer comes face to face with the second installation titled Île Singulière. Evocative of a mysterious island, the silver mirrored bricks float on top of a rectangular sea of blue bricks. In this project Othoniel extends his work into the architectural dimension, not only reaffirming his interest in contemporary architecture but also extending a multisensory dialogue with the audiences.