Founded in 2000 by Édouard Carmignac, the Fondation Carmignac is structured around two main pillars: a contemporary art collection of more than 300 works, and the Carmignac Photojournalism Award that annually supports an investigative report that is the subject of an exhibition and a catalog.
In partnership with the Fondation Carmignac was inaugurated a new location accessible to the public: the Villa Carmignac on the island of Porquerolles where exhibitions and cultural events take place.
Chronology
1950s
Edouard Carmignac spent his childhood in Peru. The memory of certain flamboyant plants now haunts the gardens of the Villa in Porquerolles.
1960s-1970s
The aspirations and energy of these years permeate the collector’s mind and his future acquisition choices. Carmignac Gestion would later stage artists of the time (Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Lou Reed…) whose music inhabits the soul of the collection.
1984
In New York, Edouard Carmignac frequents the Factory and meets Jean-Michel Basquiat who paints his portrait. The “C” surrounded by a circle that the artist paints on the canvas, will inspire the logo of Carmignac Gestion
1989
Creation of Carmignac Gestion, the foundation’s parent company.
1993
The collection begins with the acquisition of Grüner Strich (1982) from Gerhard Richter. The collection now includes 6 works by the German artist.
2000
Positioned in support of contemporary creation since that date, the Foundation now manages, promotes and shares the Carmignac collection.
2002
First acquisition of a work by Roy Lichtenstein, Fishing Village (1987). The collection now includes 15 works by the American artist (the largest private collection in France).
2009
Faced with the media and photojournalism crisis, Edouard Carmignac created the Carmignac Photojournalism Award. Endowed with a grant of 50,000 euros, this award aims to support a photojournalist in carrying out a photographic investigation that reflects reality in all its complexity.
2018
Inauguration of the Villa Carmignac site on the island of Porquerolles.
This place was created for the pleasure of sharing what I love with as many people as possible. I prefer the word “share” to word “transmit”. That is why I like accessible works. Art needs to speak.
At first, there was a farm, seen in “Pierrot le fou”, the Jean-Luc Godard movie. In the 1980s, Henri Vidal, an architect and inventor of reinforced earth, transformed the farm into a villa. Invited to the wedding of one of his daughters, Édouard Carmignac fell in love with the estate. He subsequently imagined turning it into a place dedicated to the arts. This project has unfolded over the last few years, thanks to the involvement of Atelier Barani for the design, and the GMAA agency for the project’s adaptation and extension..
The Villa Carmignac is set at the heart of a National Park and on a listed site. Additional construction is not authorized on the land. The entire project has thus consisted of clearing
2,000 square meters of space beneath the surface, without modifying the house’s contours or the existing landscape.
Inside the villa, the spaces expand and extend in the shape of a cross. In the center, an aquatic ceiling lets in natural light and illuminates these underwater spaces. The visitor walks freely around voluminous spaces marked by visual openings onto the vineyards.
In technical terms, the building meets all of the museum standards, in a sober design that
fits into the landscape, enabling the Villa Carmignac to welcome the best works under optimal conditions.
Porquerolles
The Villa on Instagram
The philosophy behind this project is to respect and make known the singular local bio-diversity, thus present and preserved thanks to the work of the Port-Cros National Park…
The garden was designed as a “non-garden”, a natural place in which we committed to create an equilibrium by subtraction and protection more than by addition.
In this way, pioneer and endemic plants were preserved; from the plentiful Cistuses, to the Hyères’ lavender trees, through more rare and protected species such as the Needle-leaved Broom and the Serapias, one of the most beautiful orchids.
The site has been replanted with numerous olive trees to preserve its agricultural nature, and a small orchard has been added in the northern plain. Near the house built in the 1980s, exotic trees like jacarandas have been added to the exotic vegetation that has been present on the site for decades: Eucalyptus, Mimosa and varied Citrus (tangerines, oranges, lemons…).
The trees and shrubs in the South have been landscaped so the works appear and disappear depending on the vantage point. In the North park, the works are framed by giant cane folding screens.
The Eastern terrace is the only tranquil and flat space offering a view from the villa towards the vineyards through the green oak trees. The grass walkways are mowed or in compacted soil and will change appearance with the seasons.
Louis Benech – Extract from the intent letter
Artists from all over the world had been selected to create artworks especially inspired by the place. They spent some time on the Porquerolles’s island in order to be soaked and to imagine sculptures in resonance. They have to be discovered in the garden because they play with nature and our senses. The surrounding sculptures each question our presence in the world in their own way.
With artworks from :
Jean Denant – Alexandre Farto AKA Vhils – Jeppe Hein -Gonzalo Lebrija -Wang Keping – Olaf Breuning – Tom Friedman – NILS-UDO – Jaume Plensa – Ugo Rondinone – Ed Ruscha.
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An entrepreneur involved in the world of art and ecology, Charles Carmignac, 39, has launched numerous initiatives in the fields of journalism, communication and the arts after studying at ESCP and Sciences Po Paris.
At the same time, he was an author and musician in the group Moriarty for 20 years. In January 2017, he takes over the management of the Carmignac Gestion Corporate Foundation and the Villa Carmignac.
Édouard Carmignac is President and founder of Carmignac, a company specialized in asset management.
After a childhood spent in Peru, he studied economics in Paris and graduated from Columbia University. Since the early 1980s, he has been collecting contemporary art in contact with the New York art scene. The energy of those years still permeates his collecting spirit and his recent acquisitions.