Guided tour of the preludian art village of Chomo
The Village d'Art Préludien is a remarkable environment for singular art, where the artist Roger Chomeaux, known as Chomo (1907-1999), lived and created alone for over 40 years in the forest of Fontainebleau.
Village d'Art Préludien
24 route de Paris,
77760 Achères-la-Forêt
24 route de Paris,
77760 Achères-la-Forêt
The Association des Amis de Chomo has been safeguarding it since 2015 and invites you to discover this exceptional place during their open house from July 20 to 28 inclusive.
Born on January 28, 1907 in Berlaimont (Nord), and died on June 19, 1999 in Achères-la-Forêt (Seine-et- Marne), Roger Chomeaux, known as Chomo, is one of those unclassifiable artists who, in France, were left by the wayside during the great turn taken by international contemporary art in the 1950s-1960s.
Born into a modest family, he attended painting and sculpture classes at the Écoles Académiques in Valenciennes, then went on to do brilliantly at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he won several prizes. Like Picasso, Paul Klee and Dubuffet, Roger Chomeaux had an excellent academic training to start with.
Married with four children, he was hired as an "artist-decorator", designing canvases for Delarive, while his wife ran a small wool business from her home. A rather comfortable situation, brutally interrupted by the war.
Returning from a year's captivity in Poland, he approached galleries in vain and developed his art, both in Paris and in Achères-la-Forêt, in the forest of Fontainebleau, where his wife had bought a small plot of land in his absence.
in his absence.
There, as a "beekeeper", he discovered the Bois Brûlé and, after a single exhibition in Paris, Galerie Jean Camion, rue des Beaux-arts, in May 1960, he decided not to return to the city and to devote himself to creation, working at various odd jobs to survive.
Until his death, forty years later, he lived as a hermit in the forest and, in the most destitute solitude, created his Village d'Art Préludien: l'Église des Pauvres, le Sanctuaire des Bois Brûlés and le Refuge are buildings made of plaster, wire mesh, bottles and dead wood, designed to house his works.
These architecture-sculptures were the subject of numerous reports in the 1970s and 1980s. Chomo's world became internationally renowned and legendary among lovers of outsider art and singular environments.
Claiming to be inspired by the Invisible and determined to "dethrone bronze" by making use of every scrap material at his disposal, Chomo would ritually receive visitors, inviting them to "have a dream with Chomo".
Today, the Association des Amis de Chomo is the guardian of Chomo's work and memory, and welcomes you to discover the Village d'art préludien: the site visit includes the three architecture-sculptures.
Born on January 28, 1907 in Berlaimont (Nord), and died on June 19, 1999 in Achères-la-Forêt (Seine-et- Marne), Roger Chomeaux, known as Chomo, is one of those unclassifiable artists who, in France, were left by the wayside during the great turn taken by international contemporary art in the 1950s-1960s.
Born into a modest family, he attended painting and sculpture classes at the Écoles Académiques in Valenciennes, then went on to do brilliantly at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he won several prizes. Like Picasso, Paul Klee and Dubuffet, Roger Chomeaux had an excellent academic training to start with.
Married with four children, he was hired as an "artist-decorator", designing canvases for Delarive, while his wife ran a small wool business from her home. A rather comfortable situation, brutally interrupted by the war.
Returning from a year's captivity in Poland, he approached galleries in vain and developed his art, both in Paris and in Achères-la-Forêt, in the forest of Fontainebleau, where his wife had bought a small plot of land in his absence.
in his absence.
There, as a "beekeeper", he discovered the Bois Brûlé and, after a single exhibition in Paris, Galerie Jean Camion, rue des Beaux-arts, in May 1960, he decided not to return to the city and to devote himself to creation, working at various odd jobs to survive.
Until his death, forty years later, he lived as a hermit in the forest and, in the most destitute solitude, created his Village d'Art Préludien: l'Église des Pauvres, le Sanctuaire des Bois Brûlés and le Refuge are buildings made of plaster, wire mesh, bottles and dead wood, designed to house his works.
These architecture-sculptures were the subject of numerous reports in the 1970s and 1980s. Chomo's world became internationally renowned and legendary among lovers of outsider art and singular environments.
Claiming to be inspired by the Invisible and determined to "dethrone bronze" by making use of every scrap material at his disposal, Chomo would ritually receive visitors, inviting them to "have a dream with Chomo".
Today, the Association des Amis de Chomo is the guardian of Chomo's work and memory, and welcomes you to discover the Village d'art préludien: the site visit includes the three architecture-sculptures.
Tarifs
Full price: 10 €, Reduced price: 5 €.
Free entry for children < 6 years.
Prestations, conforts et services
- Langues parlées :
- French
Périodes d'ouverture
From Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 August 2024.
From Saturday 21 to Sunday 22 September 2024.
From Saturday 19 to Sunday 20 October 2024.
