An encounter between art and taste

Sylvie Berkowicz | 4/27/22

Galerie La Forest Divonne, which has offices in Paris and Brussels, is organizing "L'Œuvre au corps", a series of events and exhibitions linking art and taste. While this is not a new idea, as it is recurrent in both universes, it takes on a new form here that goes beyond the simple happening.

Jean de Malherbe, co-founder of La Forest Divonne gallery, and Alexandra Swenden, a great matchmaker who likes to build bridges between disciplines, have come up with six chef/artist pairings, asking each pair to maintain exchanges throughout the year, culminating in artistic works and culinary experiments.

This collaboration is finally taking shape, and will be presented between May 19 and June 18, 2022, with exhibitions of the works in the galleries, and special dinners in the presence of the artist in the restaurants. And to broaden the public's experience of these encounters, tasting evenings will also be offered in the galleries, in the presence of the artist duos.Each chef has imagined a mouthful to accompany the work of the artist with whom he or she has collaborated.

"I suggested to Jean that we work on the triangular relationship between art, cuisine and the body. Hencethe title of the project," explains Alexandra Sweden. We're not talking here about aesthetic similarities between plates and works of art. The central idea is to find the taste of a work, by asking chefs to interpret, through taste, the bodily sensations they feel when looking at the artists' work."For Jean de Malherbe, this experiment could have been entitled "Synesthesia".Is it possible to savor an emotion that a work of art brings? " asks the gallery owner. At the gallery, I like to initiate dialogues between visual artists, who are often passionate about cooking, and other art forms. Gestures can also be similar. There's something very concrete about applying matter, a physical dance, an activity related to the body that makes artists and chefs understand each other."

The Parisian duos:

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Guy de Malherbe (painter) & Bruno Verjus (Table restaurant)
Jean-Bernard Métais (sculptor) & Alain Passard (restaurant l'Arpège)
Valérie Novello (visual artist) & Adeline Grattard (Yam'Tcha restaurant)

Brussels duos :

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Jeff Kowatch (painter) & Karen Torosyan (restaurant Bozar)
Rachel Labastie (visual artist) & Christophe Hardiquest (restaurant Bon Bon)
Tinka Pittoors (visual artist) & Nicolas Decloedt (restaurant Humus & Hortense)

For more information:

Some dinners are still available for booking on the eshop of the gallery website:

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