Description
In Ars-en-Ré, La Criée, an exhibition space dedicated to the visual arts, opens its doors this Saturday, 18 April. The first exhibition is devoted to the work of the sculptor ‘Etienne’
Following several months of work that began in the summer of 2024, the Quai de la Criée in the port of Ars-en-Ré has been given a new lease of life and is establishing itself as a vibrant new hub combining shops, services and culture.
The major new development is the opening, on 18 April, of an exhibition space dedicated to the visual arts (photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc.): La Criée. This will therefore become, alongside the La Maline theatre and cinema, the area’s second public cultural facility.
With the aim of making culture accessible to all, La Criée will, in addition to being an exhibition space, be a venue dedicated to creation and outreach. To this end, it plans to host artists in residence and organise artistic enrichment projects aimed at all audiences (schools, youth organisations, etc.)
A FIRST EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE WORK OF THE SCULPTOR ‘ÉTIENNE’
Around fifteen sculptures, three lithographs and a dozen photographs: from 18 April to 30 September 2026, La Criée is showcasing the work of the artist Étienne Pirot, known as Étienne.
A renowned sculptor, his monumental works have travelled the globe. For six months, they will find a new home on the Île de Ré, where the artist lived before his death in January 2025.
Following several months of renovation work that began in the summer of 2024, the Quai de la Criée in the port of Ars-en-Ré has been given a new lease of life and has established itself as a vibrant new hub combining
The exhibition presents works that marked the different stages of Étienne’s life: his early career in Isère, his rise to national prominence – notably exhibiting at the FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair) in Paris in 1997 – and then on the international stage, through collaborations with private, public and religious institutions.
His works depict a ‘happy humanity’. They are organised around themes dear to the artist, who believed that ‘it is easier to represent happiness than unhappiness’: the tenderness of bodies and souls, the inner journey, music and joyful conviviality.
