Exhibition “Adventices” at La Manufacture.

From July 2nd to September 17th, 2022, the urban art exhibition "Adventices" took place at La Manufacture in Aix-en-Provence. The result of a collaboration between Quai 36 and La Manufacture with the support of Une 5ème Saison, this event brought together works from artists Alfe, Arnaud Liard, Bruna Vettori, Fred Battle, Sébastien Preschoux, and Yann L’Outsider.

Throughout the exhibition, "Adventices" offered visitors the opportunity to step into the shoes of an artist facing raw and unpredictable canvases of expression.

While urban art spans a broad spectrum of disciplines and styles - abstract, figurative, lettering, kinetic art, and plastic installations - it consistently raises the universal question of one's relationship with the environment. From a simple wall to a monumental industrial wasteland, how does one approach a space where art initially had no place? This concept of intrusive intervention is what inspired the exhibition's title: "adventices" are plant species that thrive in spaces where they aren't desired.

All the artists have experienced these evolving urban locations in which they have left a mark. Their creations could be likened to "adventices": these theoretically undesirable weeds that bear witness to nature reclaiming its space. The exhibition's journey even suggests the effect of changing seasons, starting with a coloristically restrained phase (autumn - winter) followed by an amplification of the color palette (spring - summer).

The notion of perceiving a changing place as a playground and canvas for expression recalls the history of La Manufacture itself: once a factory, then an abandoned space, and finally a cultural venue. What does the memory of this historically significant site tell us?

Although embodied by a group of six artists with diverse expressions, this exhibition resembles a true collective experiment: it's the result of ongoing discussions and reflections, serving a path that is both artistic and organic.