Dani Karavan, l’axe majeur — Signature — Jeanne Bucher Jaeger | Paris, Marais Gallery — Meeting — Slash Paris

Past: Saturday, May 21, 2011

La saga de l’Axe Majeur — Dani Karavan at Cergy-Pontoise

The Axe Majeur of Cergy-Pontoise, created by Israeli artist Dani Karavan, an urban environmental sculpture of 3 km long is probably one of the largest environmental site specific sculpture in the world, to be created over a span of 30 years. Started in 1980, more than 30 years and 6 French Culture Ministers were needed for the artist to conceive his project Axe Majeur connecting the long Paris axis from the Louvre to La Défense through the Île des Impressionistes in Chatou and the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye : an environmental site specific sculpture of white architectonic concrete, symbol of purity, witness of peace, journey between space and time, link between past and present, celebration of Art and nature, integrating the urban with the natural environment around 12 stations symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israël, the 12 apostles, the 12 months of the year, the 12 astrological signs, the 12 hours of the day and of the night or the multiples of 12 : the 360° of the circle, perfect figure, was awarded the 2009 National Grand Prize of Landscape design.

First drawings and models for the Axe Majeur of Cergy Pontoise were presented at the gallery in 1986 during the exhibition Questions d’urbanité besides Gérard Singer’s Canyoneaustrate and Jean-Pierre Raynaud’s rehabilitation project of the Minguettes, near Lyon.

In 1999, celebrating Dani Karavan’s reception of the Praemium Imperiale of Japan, the gallery presented a retrospective of photographs of his major achievements throughout the world. The model of the Axe Majeur was exhibited once again during FIAC 2002 “Paysage, vue de l’esprit” and three years later, the different stages of the Axe Majeur were shown by the gallery for his solo show at FIAC 2005.

The presentation of this new publication on the Axe majeur by Claude Mollard “La saga de l’Axe majeur de Dani Karavan à Cergy-Pontoise” is in the line of continuity of the gallery’s promotion of this project, which could well become part of World Heritage of Humanity.

During this signature, different models, photographs and a movie on the Axe Majeur will be shown in the gallery’s bookstore.