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    A Sprawling Garden Opening Next Spring Embodies Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

    Photos by Almin Tabak. All images courtesy of Starry Night Retreat, shared with permission

    A Sprawling Garden Opening Next Spring Embodies Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

    November 4, 2024

    ArtDesignNature

    Kate Mothes

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    Two decades ago, Halim Zukic purchased a 173-acre plot of land in a verdant valley near his hometown of Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He conceived of a retreat, where his love of nature and landscape design could open to the public. But it wasn’t until 2018 that the businessman and art enthusiast began replicating details of one of the world’s most recognizable paintings on an enormous scale.

    While working on the property one day, Zukic observed some tractor tracks that reminded him the swirls and waves of Vincent van Gogh’s seminal work from 1889, “The Starry Night.” With plenty of motivation but less of a clear plan, he and an amateur team intuitively followed the contours of the land and made numerous adjustments over time to achieve visual and spatial harmony.

    The elaborate design for Starry Night Retreat, which employs lavender and a variety of other herbs as its medium, is characterized primarily by the absence of straight lines. The estate encompasses a 25-acre park within its overall footprint, which includes meeting places like a natural amphitheater.

    The project “honors Vincent van Gogh and those who bravely pursue their passions despite the sacrifices required,” says hospitality manager Merjem Zukić. “Mr. Zukic views the retreat as a unique space where nature and art blend, enabling visitors to reconnect with essential elements of their being and engage their senses.”

    Starry Night Retreat is slated to open to the public next May. Find more on its website.

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    2020 Edition of Rouen Impressionnee in France

    After the success of the 2016 edition, the 2020 edition of Rouen Impressionnee gathered 23 international artists, expanding successfully its open-air mural art exhibition in the streets of Rouen despite all the issues of this challenging year.

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    A total of 20 new murals have joined the existing murals created in 2016 by international artists like SatOne, Sainer, Velvet & Zoer. Curator Olivier Landes and his team focussed on the contextualization of the works, in connection with the landscape, architecture and urban history.
    In parallel to the monumental artworks, a series of events are also scheduled until end of November, including artistic interventions, graffiti jam, talks and conferences and workshops, as well as a comprehensive retrospective exhibition retracing 35 years of Street Art in Rouen.
    Featured artists include:Citémômes • Claude Blo Ricci • Elian Chali • Fabrice Houdry • Fred Calmets • Herman Kolitz • Jan Vormann • Jean Faucheur • LKSIR • Lison de Ridder • Liz Ponio • Luca Arbocco • Manolo Mesa • Nadège Dauvergne • Nelio • Nubian • OX • Olivia Paroldi • Patrice Marchand • Ratur • Roberto Ciredz • Roid • Savati • Smad
    Using a wide variety of techniques, from collage, engraving to knitting, the artistic works are intrinsically linked to the neighbourhoods and architecture. While being sensitive to architectural details, textures and volumes, the artists also involved local residents and communities.

    JAN VORMANN

    German artist Jan Vormann used Lego plastic construction pieces to repair and fill holes in the broken walls on an historical gothic building bombarded during WWII.

    Most of the works take the form of murals which vary from trompe-l’œil, pointillism, portraiture, abstraction to anamorphosis or landscape figuration:

    BLO

    French artist Blo (covered earlier) has designed a composition of vibrant and colourful shapes to highlight the passage under a monumental arch.

    ‘RENAISSANCE’ BY RATUR

    MANOLO MESA

    Spanish artist Manolo Mesa has paid tribute to the long tradition of ceramics in the Saint-Sever district, by painting a large scale mural featuring a trompe-l’oeil version of an 18th century jar, currently displayed in the Museum of Ceramics of Rouen.

    CITEMOMES

    The cultural non-profit organisation Citémômes led a yarn bombing project where intergenerations covered the walls and roof of a small house with tiny knitted squares in tribute to Monet.

    LIZ PONIO

    Liz Ponio has adorned the facade of the Simone Veil social centre of Rouen with hundreds of painted pebbles as a nod to the pointillist movement.

    NADEGE DAUVERGNE

    French artist Nadege Dauvergne painted an intimate portrait of two figures on the verge of kissing, using touches of sprays paint while the volume is being generated by playing with light and dark colours.

    ‘2006250942’ BY NELIO

    Inspired by Monet’s cathedrals and their diffuse waves, Nelio painted an oniric landscape, mixing abstraction and figuration. To add to mystery the title is “2006250942”.

    ‘L’AUTRE POSSIBLE’ BY OLIVIA PAROLDI

    Olivia Paroldi produced a large-scale mural on three garage doors using an engraving technique with a sander and dowels. The triptych is inspired by a lockdown experience, whereby the character evolves and frees himself from a constrained universe.

    ‘LE PAVILLON TROUE’ BY OX

    Using 3D effects and dark volumes, OX creates an impressive optical effect, where the walls appear to be missing. To add to the visual effects, a fine fluorescent orange outline recalls the sprays used on construction sites, as a prelude to upcoming demolition of the house.

    ‘MELT FAST DIE YOUNG’ BY ROBERTO CIREDZ
    Berlin based artist Roberto Ciredz painted a dazzling trompe l’oeil effect on this façade with a political message. Beyond the aesthetic aspect, the artist highlights the issue of global warming with a piece of ice in the process of melting.

    ‘VOYAGE’ BY ROID

    British artist Roid developed a monumental work playing with geometric shapes and the urban environment like the tram lines. The result is full of energy and interacts with the buzzing atmosphere of the place.

    ELIAN CHALI

    Elian Chali has created an anamorphosis by placing two red and blue spheres on three houses that seem to unite. Viewed from a specific point, the shapes are composed to perfection, while from other points of view they deconstruct and transform into large abstract zones of primary colours.

    JEAN FAUCHEUR

    ‘AMAZONE BATMAN’ BY FRED CALMETS

    More info on the artworks and scheduled events on www.rouenimpressionee.fr More

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    Devon museum in repatriation dispute over indigenous relics

    Efforts to recover the 19th-century regalia of a Blackfoot Nation leader began in 2008 A British museum is resisting attempts from Canada to secure the repatriation of sacred relics of a 19th-century indigenous chief because the centre where his descendants want to locate them is not an accredited museum, but the final decision lies with […] More