Anne Mourier and Joane Chopard “Refuges”

The Muriel Guépin Gallery

This event has ended.

Refuges were born from a collaboration between Anne Mourier and Joane Chopard. Together they dreamed of what could be the essence of a home. Although they come from completely different worlds the two pair perfectly together. French-born and Brooklyn based conceptual artist Anne Mourier’s work surrounds the idea of a search for home. Joane Chopard is a Swiss architect and an interior designer whose passion is to create honest and timeless living spaces. The five small-scale refugees they have created together are untouched areas of warmth and peace. Each is a place that nourishes, protects and anchors. A space where time is suspended, a peaceful and intimate retreat: a bedroom where you will find rest, a nook where you can disconnect, a tub to immerse in yourself, a laundry room where you can appreciate the work accomplished and a freshly painted apartment where you can start new

Although they are empty and have no sign of life, they are full of ease. Part of the ease comes from the suspension of time; with time suspended there is no anxiety over the uncontrollable. One could lie encapsulated for just a second in tranquility, and remain there without a touch of agitation. The world is seemingly collapsing beneath us, so to be gifted a second of an honest retreat is what a lot of people are wishing for.

The small size of the refuges also adds to the intimacy of them. They feel close, but also highly collectable. There’s something inherently warm about the size these refuges inhabit. Perhaps the attraction to this size starts at childhood, maybe it lies in peering into a snow globe during the Christmas season, or playing with a dollhouse. Perhaps it is the reversal of sizes, that when you are a child everything looks huge and conquerable as you age, but the older you get the more you want to shrink back to child size.

The exhibition will display the boxes, a fine art print of each and small handmade envelopes containing prints of the five Refuges.