Mise en cène

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Mise en cène

  • Début de l’exposition : 9 November 2023
  • Fin de l’exposition : 28 January 2024

Mise en Cène is an exhibition on the Last Supper, featuring works by contemporary artists. Here, then, it is the subject (the Last Supper) and its representation (the stagings) that make this a thematic rather than a group exhibition.

A universal resonance

An original exhibition featuring 33 artists from Roger Castang’s personal collection, inviting the public to reflect on the meaning of the Last Supper in our contemporary reality.

The subject, with its subtle connection between the sacred and the profane, evokes a duality about the nature of divinity, communion and the nature of humanity. Art offers an answer to this duality through its universal language, transcending borders and uniting individuals through emotion alone.

Each artist brings his or her own interpretation of this sacred moment and explores its many aspects.

of the human condition, such as betrayal, faith, redemption and communion, and provides a space for reflection and inspiration. These pictorial conversations contribute to a better understanding of the world. In this way, the Collections promote intercultural dialogue and respect for differences, and help to enrich our knowledge of art history so that we can be moved by it.

Stéphanie Misme

Head of Saint-Cyprien Collections

    Roger Castang

    Three words that call out to us, because we’re talking about a remarkable event in this particular relationship between form and content, aesthetics and meaning. But what is the meaning? The Last Supper or its staging…?
    It’s the subject – Christ’s last supper – and the current expression of 33 artists that make this a thematic exhibition rather than a group or style show. With no didactic pretensions, it offers visitors new representations. “Mise en Cène”, a collection of 33 works, is also the visible and public result of a project that gradually took shape through personal questioning and individual initiative.
    The result of this reflection was an observation on the obsolete, fragmentary and even “erroneous” nature of the vocabulary, both in the discourse and in the representation of the Last Supper. The idea of inviting contemporary artists to revisit the Last Supper was born…. A project of this kind couldn’t exist without the support of a patron, so I became sponsor, collector and director. In view of the result, the desire to share my own pleasure with others and the idea of a public exhibition took shape.
    The project began in earnest in 2006. The collection will be limited to the symbolic figure of 33, Christ’s age at the time of his death. The only constraint I imposed on the painters and photographers I commissioned was a 160 x 130 cm mural, which would open up new plastic solutions, and certainly new meanings. In this commissioned work, the artist remains totally free in his or her thinking and representation, expression and technique.
    The Last Supper: it can be a simple meal with friends, or even no meal at all!
    What do we know?
    Doubt is allowed, it’s what gives us the impression of being free…
    Roger Castang
    CTA: “Mise en Cène” book on sale