With the kickoff of the fall season, there’s no time like the present to head off to take a look at some art. AD went from France to Miami to New York City looking for art in some unexpected places. Here’s a list of places to see some spectacular works where you might not think to search.
Up several flights of stairs to the top of the bell tower in a cathedral in southwestern France, one is surprised by a sense of wonderment and a place to dream. Over ten years in the making, the personal universe of the French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel presents the stage for the Treasury of the Cathedral of Angouleme, comprised of liturgical objects, jewels, and the relic of a young missionary martyred in Korea in 1866. It includes 22,000 pieces of cut glass, 3,000 sheets of gold leaf, 2,231 gold sequins, and 17 different workshops all in celebration of the sacred, the beautiful, and the sublime.
Moving southeast along the pilgrimage path of Santiago de Compostela is one of the most picturesque villages in France: Conques. French abstract artist Pierre Soulages, now 97 years old, first discovered Conques at age 14, and it is this place that influenced his decision to become an artist. Within what is now a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Abbey of Conques houses 104 stained glass windows by Soulages, created to let in the light but not the outside. Translucent but not transparent, these abstract compositions were created to respect the proportions, purity of line, and natural light of this sacred interior. Read more