Virginie Barré at eac. Mouans-Sartoux: “Absolue de rose” Between Contemporary Art and the Albers-Honegger Collection

From June 6 to November 15, 2026, the eac. – Espace de l’Art Concret presents “Absolue de rose” at the Galerie du Château, a solo exhibition by French artist Virginie Barré. The opening is scheduled for Friday, June 5 at 6:00 PM. The exhibition is curated by Fabienne Grasser-Fulchéri, director of the eac., with the assistance of Lénaïc Roué.

The project takes place in one of France’s most important contemporary art institutions and creates a dialogue between Barré’s multidisciplinary practice and historical works from the prestigious Albers-Honegger Donation.

A universe between cinema, dream and contemporary abstraction

Active since the 1990s, Virginie Barré develops an artistic practice that spans drawing, sculpture, installation, comics and cinema. Her work constructs a visual universe where reality and fiction overlap, shaped by irony, theatricality and surreal narrative structures.

Deeply influenced by cinema, Barré reinterprets abstraction through references to musical comedy and auteur film. Works such as Le rêve géométrique and Nos corps sont des rivières explore geometric forms, primary colors and choreography, evoking Bauhaus aesthetics and the spirit of the Nouvelle Vague.

“Absolue de rose”: nature, memory and botanical heritage

The title “Absolue de rose” refers to the language of perfumery, where an “absolute” is the most concentrated essence extracted from flowers. It directly connects to the local heritage, where May roses were historically cultivated for fragrance production.

The Jardin de Mouans-Sartoux and the surrounding landscape designed by Gilles Clément are integral to the exhibition. Seeds, flowers and vegetal forms recur throughout Barré’s practice as elements of collection, transformation and memory.

New works and craft-based collaborations

The exhibition includes new works created in collaboration with artisans, such as terracotta beads, sculptural installations, textile figures and hybrid objects between art and design. These pieces expand into costumes, banners, talismans, painted garments and characters titled Les sentinelles de la joie, linked to the ongoing musical project La plage des dames.

These works explore themes of performance, dance, costume and storytelling, expanding Barré’s practice into an immersive and theatrical dimension.

A dialogue with the Albers-Honegger Donation

A central feature of the exhibition is its dialogue with the Donation Albers-Honegger, one of Europe’s most significant collections of geometric abstraction, classified as a French “Trésor National”.

The exhibition brings together works by artists such as Max Bill, Sonia Delaunay, Meret Oppenheim, and Aurélie Nemours, among many others.

Special attention is given to women artists and to disciplines often considered peripheral, such as decorative arts, illustration and applied arts.

Memory, femininity and abstraction

“Absolue de rose” creates a poetic dialogue between contemporary creation and the history of abstraction, addressing themes such as memory, femininity, domestic space and lived experience. The result is an immersive exhibition that connects different generations and artistic languages.

For more information: eac. – Espace de l’Art Concret.