Le Rêve de l'eau

To celebrate the 110th anniversary of its construction, the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval hosts the exhibition "Le Rêve de l'eau", designed by the artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, from summer 2022 to early November. Created especially for this unique place in the world, the exhibition unfolds for the first time in the heart of the work of the facteur Cheval and his garden. Inspired by the preparatory drawings of Factor Cheval, Jean-Michel Othoniel's intervention appeals to the senses and summons the marvelous to bring to life the dream of its creator: that the Palais be animated by water games, fountains and waterfalls. In a perfect dialogue, Jean-Michel Othoniel creates works all around and inside the Palace, inspired by the forms conceived by the facteur Cheval.

Invited by Frédéric Legros (director of the Palais idéal du facteur Cheval), Jean-Michel Othoniel subtly takes up the challenge of bringing contemporary creation into the singular work of the facteur Cheval for the first time. Between sculptures, fountains, constructions and follies, two worlds of singular artists come together.

The exhibition catalog is composed of texts by Marie Darrieussecq, Frédéric Legros and Jean-Michel Othoniel on the one hand, and two portfolios of in situ images in which photographers Philippe Chancel and Jean-Philippe Robin document Jean-Michel Othoniel's interventions in the Palais Idéal. 
The ensemble is completed by a series of preparatory drawings by the artist created during the conception phase of the exhibition, one of which is reproduced on a leaflet.