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Inauguration of the garden
Friday June 8th at 9 pm, the cloister of the Abbaye des Presmontres is full. Nearly 200 guests and colleagues are there to witness the unveiling of Vincent Dupont Rougier's original exhibition featuring the five crystal manufacturers.
With Jean-Pierre Massenet, president of the Conseil Régional de Lorraine, Michel Dinet, president of the Conseil Général de Meurthe-et-Moselle, Jean-Yves Le Déaut, president of the abbaye, Francis Lemoine, mayor of Pont à Mousson, Sophie Le Tanneur (Daum), Sylvie Henquin ( Val Saint Lambert), Francis Chauveau et Roger Lévy ( Hermès-Saint-Louis), Claude Hüe, présidente du Pôle, the evening continued with the illumination of the cloister, transforming the show into a blaze of crystal radiance.
Photos of the inauguration are available :
the web site of the garden

The designers
With the assistance of the promising young designer Melanie Crespin, Vincent Dupont Rougier has created a distinct universe for each crystal maker, drawing inspiration from its history, its tradition, as well as the strong ties between crystal and nature.
The celebrated designer Vincent Dupont Rougier has already worked for such prestigious clients as: Hermès, Baccarat, France Télécom, Galerie Neotu, l'évènement Lille 2004, ...
More about Vincent Dupont Rougier

Crystal Music
As soft music filled the abbey during the opening, guests began detecting musical instruments made entirely of glass and crystal. Transparence Musiverre, an ensemble of glass and crystal instrumentalists, directed by Jean-Claude Chapuis, revealed its instruments: Glassharmonicas, cloches, aérophone, cymbalum, ...
The magic of this crystalline music permeated the abbey, harmonizing in perfect accord with the crystal garden.
Photos of Jean Claude Chapuis during the inauguration
More about Jean Claude Chapuis

Photos of the Crystal Garden
The Pôle Verrier asked two photographs to shoot during the exhibition: François Golfier and Claude Weber , a professionnal
Photos of François Golfier

A day with crystal and art
The department of tourism of Meurthe-et-Moselle, in partnership with Liaisons Directes, is offering day long events focusing on the theme of glass and crystal in Lorraine. Included in the program will be a trip to the Crystal Garden, a meal at L'Excelsior (renowned Art Nouveau restaurant) and a visit to Nancy's Musee des Beaux
Arts. Numerous dates are available.
More information

The garden according to ...

Baccarat's crystal garden
Like something out of a story by Lewis Carroll, Baccarat's surrealist garden is much like the flamboyant gardens Alice visits on her adventures in Wonderland. It is easy to imagine her amazement as she comes across bouquets of glasses and sleeping decanters, touches of red and white dotted on long stems, each of them opening into a crystal rose. Rosebuds that become incandescent red glasses in an allusion to the famous "ruby red", Baccarat's emblematic colour, and transparent white carafes, a hymn to the absolute purity for which Baccarat crystal is the muse.
In this delightful garden, the water from which these phantasmagorical bouquets sprout creates astonishing optical illusions reflecting ad infinitum the cut sides of the iconic Harcourt, the finely structured silhouette of Vega and the sensual curve of a Dom Perignon decanter.
Indeed light does not escape the impudent vision of Vincent Dupont-Rougier. Chandelier arms, ghostly apparitions, simple poetic evocations of the legendary crystal chandelier, lie languidly on the ground, forming a halo around the microcosm of Wonderland which we know holds many surprises in store...
Emerging from this artificial fauna and flora from every pole and latitude, an enormous bear good naturedly observes the shifting of the light and the tinkling sound in the air when it strokes the crystal, and dreams of the wonderful alchemy of this imaginary Garden of Eden.
lien][url]www.idverre.net/jardindecristal/diapo/source/jdc-baccarat02.htm" target="_blank"> Baccarat's Garden photos

The crystal garden of Daum
Vincent Dupont Rougier has created for Daum a scenography which makes the brand inimitable: Art, Nature, Colour.
In a natural and vegetable environment, Emilio Robba, floral designer renew the botanical feature by strewing the garden of sculptures evoking bamboos and palm trees. Buddha and Bodhisattvas in crystal resulting from the China collection confer on this garden all its mystery.
Emilio Robba for Daum: collection Bamboo and Palm tree, limited editions in crystal Daum China Collection: Buddha and Bodhisattva, limited editions in crystal.
Daum's Garden photos

Lalique's crystal garden
Vincent Dupont-Rougier has combined for Lalique the bucolic charm of Eden and the mystery of the submarine depths, thus paying tribute to the recurring topics of Lalique's works.
Anthuriums, anemones, apples, sparrows, turtle, butterflies and dragonflies whirl around the monumental & famous Cactus table crystal leaves designed in 1951 and made of nearly 150 kg of crystal.
Through an idyllic walk within the marine world, the visitors will discover an amazing school of 100 multicoloured fish dressed in more than 30 different shades.
Lalique's Garden photos


The Saint-Louis' Crystal garden
Saint-Louis, named after the famous French king, was appointed as crystal maker to the king in 1765, in letters of patent granted by Louis XV.
The crystal makers could then naturally imagine this garden in the French style, inspired by Versailles and its fountains.
The Flamboyance chandelier, a veritable homage to Saint-Louis by Hilton McConnico, commands the scene as a sumptuous fountain, its cups lined in white enamel.
Crystal flowers peep out from Marie-Antoinette's cottage garden: Tommy, whose emblematic form was inspired by the Chardon glass, creates blossoms from the graceful cut in the color-layered crystal.
Finally, a poetic border springs up from glasses and champagne flutes in green and chartreuse crystal, like a carefully groomed hedge - the perfect showcase for a majestic vase ... Versailles.
Saint-Louis' Garden photos


The crystal garden of Val Saint Lambert
Substance and shape, shape and substance made of transparency and brilliance revealing or hiding, from cascade to cascade, the bloom of light.
The candlesticks presented on a plate make us dream walking in a garden.
Confessed or secret dreams of fine banquets where eyes meet. Dreams of majesty in infinite rooms of the castle, of marquis, of servants troubling the monks of the cistercian abbey.
Social and intimate, these objects reveal a part of our personality.
With their simple and structured lines, the candlesticks in clear crystal open on candlesticks with almost odd colours.
The poets signing these art objects are André Poisquet, Katherine de Sousa, Eric Delvaux...
Val Saint Lambert's Garden photos

events

Exhibition Val Saint Lambert - Ronald Van Der Hilst
From the june 19
Val Saint Lambert's Gallery in Brussells
Open every day from 10am to 7pm
Information : 02/503 42 14
or on www.val-saint-lambert.com

Baccarat, Ladies & light
For the first time, Baccarat is celebrating women and light through a dazzling event that pays tribute to their creativity. Ten women designers or interior decorators, deliberately selected for their contrasting personalities, would be asked to create ten crystal chandeliers.
After shows in Tokyo and in Paris, the exhibition stays in Baccarat's chapel in the manafacture's site from June 4 to September 29.

René Lalique in Luxembourg's Museum
Luxembourg's Museum will underline this genius artist with 150 works (realized of 1890 to 1910) of which many new pieces.
From March 7 at July 20, 2007.

Glass, Earthenware, Crystal: an itinerary in Lorraine
The "Conseil Régional de Lorraine" organizes a serie of 7 exhibitions with the event "Luxembourg, European cultural capital 2007". Those exhibitions make you discover the glass tradition and the know-how in Lorraine. The exhibition Crystal Garden is on the road of this itinerary in Lorraine.

Made in Meisenthal
testimonies of 15 years of design in CIAV.
From April 8 to December 22
(Break from November 1 to 16)
In Centre International d'Art Verrier in Meisenthal
Information : 03.87.96.87.16
or on www.ciav-meisenthal.com

Glass Art Nouveau : Désiré and François Christian
First retrospective about the work of a Emile Gallé's partner.
From April 8 to October 31 2007
In the glass Museum in Meisenthal
Information : 03.87.96.91.51

White Serie: ceramics, birth of an industry in the heart of Europe
History of the manufaturiers of the "Grande Région" since the XVIIIth century.
From May 9 to July 22
In the Earthenware Museum in Sarreguemines
Information : 03.87.98.93.50
or on www.sarreguemines-museum.com

Transparencies, history of glass and cristal in Lorraine
Assessment on the history of glass and crystal in Lorraine from the Antiquity to the XXth century.
From October 6, 2007 to January 7, 2008
In "Musée lorrain" of Nancy
Information : 03.83.32.18.74
or on www.nancy.fr

Galsswork Art Nouveau, example of Brothers Muller
Nex exhibition dedicated to Muller manufacture.
From October 6,2007 to January 6,2008
In the Museum of "Ecole de Nancy"
Information : 03.83.40.14.86
or on www.ecole-de-nancy.com

Daum and the esthetics of the Fifties
An exhibition, undertaken by Michel Daum, recounting the history of lyric abstraction in Daum glass.
From October 6,2007 to January 6,2008
In the "Beaux-Art" Museum of Nancy
Information : 03.83.85.30.72
or on www.nancy.fr

network

Neolalique : Autumn-Winter 2007-2008
This new collection was inspired by Lalique's exceptional heritage and the contemporary trends of the 21th century. Hence, a self-possessed collection that presents itself with modernity while imposing new life on designs from an artisanal past.

The Baccarat's Phantom
French designer Arik Levy was in London yesterday to promote his new Intangible collection for luxury crystal brand Baccarat. The collection, which was previewed at the Maison et Objet show in Paris earlier this year, consists of vases, barware and candlesticks plus an reinterpretation of a traditional crystal chandelier. Called Phantom, the "exploded" chandelier consists of a single arm taken from an original Baccarat chandelier, which can be hung singly or in clusters.

Georges Braque and Daum
The crystal manufacturer Daum will present in September a collection of 2à new pieces drawn by Georges Braque.

Saint Louis Museum
The Saint Louis crystal factory in Saint-Louis-les-Bitche is opening a new type of exhibition space on June 25th. This is an occasion for the esteemed enterprise of two centuries, now a member of the Hermes group, to display some 1500 pieces from among the 7000 in its treasured collection.

press review

Cristal gardin in press
Newspapers hastened to write an article to encourage their readers to discover the exhibition.
Some others, national newspapers, take part in press days organized to share their impressions with their readers. You will soon read articles about Crystal Garden in Le Monde, VSD, Figaro, Nouvel Observateur, Télé star, ...

L'Est Républicain
Les Jardins du savoir-faire, le 07 mai 2007
Le cristal scintille à l'abbaye, le 10 juin 2007

Le Républicain lorrain
Promenade fragile dans un jardin de cristal, le 09 juin 2007

Le Jeudi presse luxembourgeoise
jardin de cristal, le 31 mai 2007

Vers l'avenir presse belge
Le jardin de cristal ouvre le 8 juin, le 16 mai 2007


Crystal Garden on your tv screen
Jean-Pierre Pernault has presented a report about the exhibition on Wednesday, the 6th June during the News. The exhibition will be presented on the new tv channel "Du Côté de Chez Vous" too.

The radio speaks about it
Local and national emissions have already made echoes of the exposure, RTL, France Bleu Sud et Nord Lorraine and BFM at the head. And that will not stop now.

The exhibition on the Net
Many websites point up Crystal Garden and invite theirs Internet users to discover the magic space of each crystal manufacturer. Evene, l'internaute, abc luxe, étapes, côté maison, maison à part, luxe magazine, le journal des femmes, toutnancy, ...

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