Travel, go, leave, remove, imagine, dream, hope, search, find, make, fulfil, return… among others are action verbs which articulate this third collection path whose works unfold a story about art and life.

This new MAC/VAL presentation reveals some never-viewed works, often recently acquired or shifted from back-rooms, or even new productions connected to museum history for ushering in foreign artists in residence. Although MAC/VAL focuses on the French art scene, it embraces almost more foreign artists who unfailingly embellish our national artistic output. Whether the oldest in the collection or new public works, they all share this historically-crucial bond, that of movement, exile, travel and dream, trials of individuals who violently, sustainably or poetically initiate an entire journey of a life-time. The first two displays were focused on inter-individual relations, collectively-forged stories, and ways of living together. This time it’s more about personal stories and individual quests. An inner journey void of tourism and social diversions - it’s all about self-soul searching and sculpting a new life: what are we after and what happens in the end? Whether they’re real, in the past or the future, subjected or imaginary, the works “Je reviendrai” (I’ll be back) questions movement and voyaging, their diverse forms and causes, what feeds them and what we pursue. A story where exile meets the powerful imaginary, reality faces other possibilities and other space-times. But it merely discusses human flight, what is forged, a dramatic story or one quite simply repetitive and boring, with spindly wires weaving a landscape between the past, present and future. It’s really all about the artists and their works which when described, become like a parallel to our own past. This presentation will be enriched over the year, just like the two previous displays which were renewed themselves several times. The presence of new artists makes us re-question our life adventure and our behavioural-displays to resolve issues. A subtitle for this new museum season could have been Being here and there: following the works according to what is, what could be, or what could have existed. Reality, projects, hopes, and then the reality again ….

Alexia Fabre, Head Curator