Champagne-tasting tourists may suspect that something strange is going on when they arrive at Pommery in Reims. Just beyond the gates, a stand of ornamental bushes is smoking furiously. The long driveway leading up to the turreted 19th-century “castle” is lined with flagpoles – nothing unusual about that, except that the flags fluttering on them are refreshingly symbol- and message-free rectangles of filmy white gauze.  A mysterious mound of metal and plastic on the grass between the flagpoles turns out to be constructed of supermarket carts.

If you suspect that artists have been at work in the environs (respectively Jana Kalinova, Marco Godinho and the collective Absurd), you are absolutely right. Pommery is holding its fifth annual exhibition of contemporary art, most of which is displayed in its spectacular maze of cellars carved out of Gallo-Roman stone quarries by the redoubtable Louise Pommery (a portrait of this stern-looking, thin-lipped Champagne entrepreneur can be seen near the entrance) in the 19th century.

Even those who hate contemporary art will enjoy the visit to the fabulous cellars, with their long, cool, dark, winy-moldy-smelling alleyways named after cities and filled with 27 million bottles. These corridors occasionally open up into cathedral-like rooms several stories high with small openings at ground level to let in light and air.

Those who do love contemporary art will not be disappointed by this year’s full-of-fun show, “Contemporary Art in Europe.” At a time when the rest of the art world is taking a frenzied interest in Asian artists, the show looks at what is happening in the European Union as France takes over the EU’s six-month presidency. Curator Fabrice Bousteau, in collaboration with Beaux Arts Magazine, asked editors of art magazines in the 27 EU countries to choose two of the best young artists each from their country. Of the 50-something works in the exhibition, around half were created specifically for this very special site.

A few of the works are two-dimensional – one of the French contributions, by Cyprien Gaillard, is an extremey discreet little framed antique photo of the Pommery castle, partially covered by a piece of torn paper – but most are installations or projected photos, with surprisingly few videos.

The most successful works are those that play with the darkness of the cellars and the long, narrow tunnels, creating surprises around every corner. One of the first pieces, the room-sized “From Here to Ear (Version 6_2008)” by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, creates a brightly lit garden planted with scraggly but real flowers and electric guitars. The dozens of little birds flying around turn out to be real as well, calling to mind the canaries that were once kept in mines to evaluate air quality (dead canary=bad air).

While walking down the wide “Manchester” corridor, you may wonder why you are suddenly walking on a plush carpet instead of the stone floor. It’s another artwork, “Délits” by Rada Boukova, which suddenly develops speed bumps (requiring the posting of a guard to warn people not to trip) and then forms mountain-like obstacles in your path.

Don’t miss the beach scene by Enrique Marty and the floating altar by Andrea Huszár, although you may break your neck getting to them via dimly lit, narrow alleys (“What we won’t do for art,” said a woman’s voice in the dark as visitors felt their way along a nearly blacked-out passageway). Do wear sensible, flat-heeled shoes but not your best clothes – at one point you will have to walk on a slatted wood platform that is not spike-heel-friendly, and the uneven floor is sometimes muddy from dripping condensation.

Heidi Ellison

Domaine Pommery: 5, place Général-Gouraud, 51100 Reims. Reservations (recommended): 03 26 61 62 56. E-mail: domaine@vrankenpommery.fr. Guided tours in French or English: 45 minutes. Admission: €10 (includes tasting of Pommery Brut Royal). Open daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Through November 1. E-mail: domaine@vrankenpommery.fr Web: www.pommery.com

© 2008 Paris Update

More reviews of current art exhibitions.

Reader Reaction
Click here to respond to this article (your response may be published on this page and is subject to editing).