The Valence Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie and Lux Scène Nationale, on the occasion of the 300th birthday of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and alongside events organized by the Rhône-Alpes Region, present the exhibition Célébration\Rêves de nature. Based on his posthumous and unfinished work, Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire, this exhibition, designed by the Museum and Lux, in collaboration with the local Médiathèque, examines our feelings toward nature from the 17th to the 21st century. Jean-Jacques Rousseau formed an almost intimate bond with nature and a passionate interest in botany, his famous walks feeding his “rêveries”. Walking as well as introspection are so many invitations to daydream, to reflect on the possibilities of a “state of nature” and of a different relationship with the world. A refuge; a space for experimentation; a place for contemplation; or a source of unsettling power, nature is an inspiration to artists. The showcased works, chosen from the museum’s own collection as well as private institutions, explore our feelings toward nature, the conditions for its representation and the possibility of a utopian, intimate, melancholy or even festive relationship with it. Reinvented by their new proximity, these pieces also constitute an invitation for the viewer to soak in their presence and discourses. An exhibition, which, while paying homage to the philosopher, also celebrates the expansive, limitless diversity - for they are ever-renewed - of viewers’ interpretations.

Featuring:
Daniel Arsham, Antoine-Louis Barye, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, Sophie Calle, Eugène Delacroix, Narcisse Diaz de la Peña, Jean Fautrier, Ceal Floyer, Hamish Fulton, Cornelis Gysbrechts, Henri Harpignies, Uwe Henneken, Jean-Émile Laboureur, Rose Lowder, Henri Michaux, Éric Poitevin, Hubert Robert, Roman Signer.

This catalogue was published for the exhibition Célébration\Rêves de nature shown at Lux - Scène Nationale de Valence organised by the Musée de Valence hors-les-murs 11 May - 7 July 2012.