© Yves Gellie / Maison Bernard Endowment Fund
Until 23 June, you can visit the Maison Bernard, a masterpiece of 1970s organic architecture designed by Antti Lovag in Théoule-sur-Mer, near Cannes on the Côte d'Azur.
Genius Loci, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting architectural heritage and contemporary creation, chosen Maison Bernard as site for its latest edition.
Maison Bernard© Yves Gellie / Maison Bernard Endowment Fund
Built in the 1970s, Maison Bernard is the fruition of an encounter between two free-thinking personalities brimming with innovative ideas, Antti Lovag and Pierre Bernard, and a landscape: the Estérel massif, with its vivid red rock formations overlooking the Mediterranean.
Lovag knew the region well, having colla- borated with the architect Jacques Couëlle on the construction of the Port-la-Galère private residential compound in the 1960s. An adventurous industrialist, Bernard, was impressed with Lovag’s ideas, far from the conventions and standards of the time, and asked the architect to build him a holiday home in Théoule-sur-Mer, near Cannes. Conceived in harmony with nature, the house took shape after nearly ten years of construction using artisanal techniques.
© Yves Gellie / Maison Bernard Endowment Fund
The result is an ovoid structure devoid of right angles, nestled in the landscape as an homage to the curve on every scale. In Lovag’s view, no form was better suited to human living spaces than the sphere. He abhorred conventional, inflexible layouts and sought above all to emphasize functionality in the spaces that he conceived, designed and furnished down to the smallest detail. Joined by a deep bond of friendship, Bernard and the architect — or “habitologist,” as he defined himself — pursued their structural adventures, building a few kilometers away the future Palais Bulles, acquired by Pierre Cardin shortly after Bernard’s untimely death in 1991. Restored by Bernard’s children in 2015 with the help of the architect Odile Decq, Maison Bernard remains one of the finest examples of Lovag’s organic architecture and his conception of well-being.
© Yves Gellie / Maison Bernard Endowment Fund
The exhibition
Founded in Paris in 2021 by the curator Marion Vignal and guided by the values of education and the transmission of knowledge, Genius Loci showcases the history of architecture while fostering new creative production and dialogues between artistic disciplines.
Curated by Marion Vignal and organized in partnership with the Maison Bernard Endowment Fund, the exhibition will highlight the visionary brilliance, imaginative power and creative freedom of this extraordinary structure conceived in symbiosis with nature and the human body.
DANCE PARC: a playground project. Performance in situ by Némo Flouret. Special commission created for Genius Loci Maison Bernard. Photo ©César Vayssié
The event will feature works by more than 20 artists and designers, both modern and contemporary, as well as a number of special commissions specific to the project. These creations will dialogue with Lovag’s architecture, from its multiple spherical spaces to the seaside cactus and succulent garden.
In this exceptional setting, an eco-responsible temporary installation will be mounted as part of a workshop conducted in cooperation with Villa Arson in Nice.
A select group of artists and designers have been invited by Marion Vignal, in collaboration with Isabelle Bernard, co-owner of the house and co-founder of the Maison Bernard endowment fund, to create a work especially for the exhibition.
Xavier Veilhan, Rays (Maison Bernard). Courtesy Xavier Veilhan and Galerie Andréhn-Schiptjenko. Genius Loci special commission and Maison Bernard Endowment Fund. Photo ©Yves Gellie
These artworks and installations are conceived in resonance with the spirit of the venue, envisioned as an arena for creative experimentation. They also constitute an extension
of the program of artist residencies initiated by Isabelle Bernard in 2015 for the creation of original works specifically for Maison Bernard.
David Logan, Entrejambe. Private collection . Photo © Adrien Dirand
Marion Mailaender, A1562, Cotton bedspread with stainless steel eyelets. Courtesy Marion Mailaender. Genius Loci special commission and Maison Bernard Endowment Fund. Photo © Adrien Dirand
About Genius Loci
Through its program of experiential exhibitions, the Genius Loci seeks to reach the widest possible public with architecture as a cultural focus. It spotlights hidden or little- known architectural treasures, offering exceptional opportunities to visit private venues that are normally closed to the public. Allowing these sites to be discovered and more widely known, the organization’s events juxtapose architecture with contemporary art and design, revealing each venue’s artistic resonance and revitalizing its intrinsic spirit. Every exhibition also provides an opportunity for contemporary performing artists to express themselves through the creation of works or installations conceived to interact with the architecture.
Since its founding, Genius Loci has offered the public unprecedented access to a number of landmarks of architectural history: L’Ange Volant, the villa built by Gio Ponti in the Paris suburb of Garches in 1927; Auguste Perret’s apartment, on the top floor of the building that he completed in 1932 at 51 Rue Raynouard in Paris; Les Espaces d’Abraxas, built by Ricardo Bofill in Noisy-le-Grand (East of Paris) in 1983; and the Ozenfant House, one of the first Purist structures in Paris by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret.
In all of its projects, Genius Loci helps raise public awareness of the importance of preserving the architectural heritage, and actively supports contemporary creation through special commissions and carte blanche invitations.
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Press release and photos courtesy of Maison Bernard Endowment Fund
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