Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art

The Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art is a special place where people can see beautiful and interesting artworks. It is located in Montsoreau, France, and opened its doors to visitors on April 8, 2016. This museum is a private place that anyone can visit.

Inside the museum, you can see a special collection of artworks chosen by a person named Philippe Méaille. These artworks were created by a group of artists known as Art & Language. They are part of something called conceptual art, which means the ideas behind the art are very important.

The museum is housed in the beautiful Château de Montsoreau, which is itself a historic building. This makes the museum a wonderful place to explore both old and new art, and to learn about creative ideas from artists around the world.

History

Philippe Méaille, who lives in Anjou, worked with Christian Gillet, the president of the department of Maine-et-Loire, to create a museum of contemporary art in Anjou. They decided to place his art collection inside the château de Montsoreau, a special building owned by the department. On 19 June 2015, Christian Gillet offered Méaille a 25-year lease for the château.

Restoration works

While fixing up a room in the château, workers found an old chimney from around 1450. Experts are now working to restore this chimney. In August 2016, a library about history of art, new art, and crafts opened. The museum welcomed visitors again at the end of May 2017, and now people can reach it by boat after some extra work was done.

Architecture

The castle of Montsoreau has been the gateway to Anjou for over a thousand years. It is special because it is the only castle along the Loire River that houses a museum of contemporary art. Long ago, a man named Jean II of Chambes, who was an important figure for King Charles VII of France, built this castle between 1443 and 1453. He placed it right next to the Loire River, similar to how beautiful buildings were constructed in Venice at that time.

Collection

The museum shows a special collection put together by Philippe Méaille. This collection is on the first two floors and has works only by a group of artists called Art & Language. This group started in 1968 and includes artists from Britain, America, and Australia. Today, the group is still making art, and two artists, Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden, represent them.

Many artists have worked with Art & Language since 1965. The collection has many types of art, like paintings, sculptures, drawings, and installations, as well as videos and written pieces.

Temporary exhibitions

The Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art has hosted many special shows. In 2016, it showed works by Agnès Thurnauer called a History of Painting. In 2017, there was a show about Ettore Sottsass named Designer of the World.

In 2018, the museum presented works by the group Art & Language titled Reality (Dark) Fragments (Light), as well as a big group exhibition called 1968: Sparta Dreaming Athens featuring artists like Tony Smith, Edward Ruscha, and Claes Oldenburg. In 2019, the museum displayed Mappa Mundi, works by Roman Signer, and a show by Charlotte Moorman called Think Crazy.

Events

François Morellet Prize

The museum works with the National days of Books and Wine in Saumur to give an award to an art writer. This award is called the François Morellet prize. Past winners include:

• 2016: Catherine Millet, an art critic.
• 2017: Michel Onfray, a philosopher.
• 2018: Eric de Chassey, a director of an art history institute.
• 2019: Bernar Venet, an artist.
• 2020: Kenneth Goldsmith
• 2021: Orlan
• 2022: Bernard Marcadé

Miriam Rothschild Gardens

In 2017, the gardens of the castle were changed into wild gardens. These gardens cover more than one hectare and show the importance of biodiversity. They were created by Miriam Rothschild (1908–2005), a scientist. The wild garden uses native plants and helps protect the local fauna, creating a balance between plants and animals.

Publications

Some of the books and works related to the museum include:

• 2016: Rod Mengham, Un tour chez Agnès Thurnauer.
• 2016: Art & Language, Entretien avec Victorine Meurend.
• 2017: Art & Language, Affiche: Almost a Home for Homeless Stuff.
• 2017: Fabien Vallos, Philippe Méaille, Antonia Birnbaum, Fabrice Hergott, Chloé Maillet, Louise Hervé, Antoine Dufeu, A Constructed World, Protest 1517-2017. ISBN 978-2-9557917-0-7
• 2018: Art & Language, Matthew Jesse Jackson, Art & Language Reality (Dark) Fragments (Light).ISBN 978-2-9557917-2-1