Jennifer Guidi’s Meditative New Show Explores the Beauty of Nature at Château La Coste in Provence

As visitors hike their way up the magnificent sun-drenched rolling hills, passing rows of vineyards, cypresses, stone pines, and olive trees with the quintessential sound of cicadas loudly hissing in the background, the bright orange beams of the Rogers gallery peek out of the lush green foliage. The space, seemingly floating in mid-air, is a respite from the summer heat and provides a quiet moment to contemplate the art within. At the soaring glass entrance, a large-scale painting, Morning Wrapped Land Aglow, immediately catches the eye. Suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room, Guidi’s imagined landscape in tones of orange, green, and purple, plays off the Luberon mountain range situated in the distance. Installed right behind this work is another large-scale piece of the same size, cleverly bisecting the room.

“When I was first told about the Richard Rogers structure, the pictures and videos don’t do it justice,” says Guidi in a short film produced on the show. “When you drive on the property and you see it peeking through, it is something that your eye is automatically drawn to. I do something similar in my paintings where I use color to draw you in.”

Along the adjacent walls are a series of smaller mountainscapes, somewhat resembling small windows, encouraging the viewer to take a closer look. These vignettes are a bold combination of psychedelic color, form, and texture. Inspired by California’s rocky terrain and crafted in Guidi’s massive studio in Los Angeles, these new works equally recall the lines and contours of Provence’s landscape. “The mountains here are magical,” continues the artist, who suggests the motif represents a place of contemplation and reflection, a physical representation of a spiritual path to a higher consciousness. “Coming here for the first time and experiencing it in person has been incredible. It’s been amazing to introduce my paintings into this landscape.”

At its heart, “Mountain Range” is a celebration of that unique “painters’ light” that has long lured artists in both destinations. “When I was thinking about the landscape of Provence, the fields of lavender, I was thinking about color and light. There is such a layering that adds up to the rolling hills,” Guidi says. “It was something that really pushed me to explore a building up of color and surface. I was also thinking about the Impressionists and the Pointillists. I am inspired by artists who have come to this region whether it be Van Gogh, Matisse, Cezanne. These are artists I have looked at for over 30 years.”

To create the detailed works, Guidi started with a base layer of sand mixed with pigments before beginning a process of meticulously mark-making with a hand-carved wooden dowel. The result is a remarkable pattern radiating from a central point like an energy source. The mountain forms are then built up using a new technique in which she adds layers of colored sand and oil paint dots, adding a three-dimensional quality. The series marks an important shift in her practice, as she masterfully combines pure abstraction with figural representations of the land. “I have been using sand in my paintings for about ten years. I’m interested in this idea of sand being many grains that come together to make whole…The exciting part of this exhibition is that although I have painted mountains in the past, this has been a real journey for me personally for some new experiments and techniques.”

The show, on view through September 3, is just one part of a series of exciting new summer programming and additions to Château La Coste. Since the estate opened to the public in 2011, visitors have been arriving in droves to explore the 40 pieces of contemporary art installed in the open air and five gallery spaces, each designed by a Pritzker Prize–winning architect. Every new artist and architect is also invited to visit the domain and discover the beauty of the region, often making new works inspired by their stay.

This spring, a stunning sculpture of a 90-foot-long pregnant woman by French artist Prune Nourry was added to the permanent art and architecture trail. Given carte blanche for the project, Nourry’s installation was inspired by a photograph she took of a pregnant friend lying in a bath of warm milk in 2010. In Provence, that intimate image has been given a whole new dimension and scale, with the body seemingly receding into the grass below. Titled Mater Earth, it officially opened in April after years of development and planning; this summer, visitors are able to now walk inside and experience a dark womb-like sensation. Situated on a flat plane at the bottom of a hill, the work’s location selected by the artist so that it could be seen from several points of view. It also holds its own next to the very masculine structure nearby designed by Frank Gehry, a powerful ode to femininity and the pregnant female form.

Also recently added to the property is a curved structure by the late Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, built posthumously, that features an 80-seat auditorium and a glass-walled gallery. This summer, the Niemeyer pavilion hosts a not-to-be-missed exhibition by the iconic designer Pierre Paulin.

While most people are visiting Château La Coste for the day, there’s also an option for serious art aficionados to extend their adventure by staying on site at the Villa La Coste. Perched high on the hillside, the property features 28 suites surrounded by fragrant jasmine-filled gardens, each opening onto a large terrace offering with extraordinary views over the valley. Art abounds throughout with a monumental painting by Guidi gracing the lobby and restaurant area, while a downstairs library is filled with art monographs on the artists from the trail. Indoor and outdoor dining venues, and manicured gardens with sculptures and an intimate pool area round out the experience.