A Prefabricated Bungalow From 1972
Looking at art, wine tasting, and visiting the Emporda region of Catalonia
Located on 130 acres in the Emporta region of Catalonia is the Terra Remota Vineyard. In addition to the promise of wine tasting and visiting the grounds, Terra Remota has also become a haven for site-specific art exhibitions and architectural gems. Opening next week is one of Terra Remota’s most ambitious exhibitions, a 1972 modernist structure that looks like it landed from outer space. Inside is an exhibition of ceramics curated specifically for this unusual venue.
This is the fifth architectural intervention in the vineyard by young French design dealer Clément Cividino, who specializes in architecture, more specifically, prefabricated structures from the ’60s and ’70s. He landed in Perpignan and set up his gallery there in 2013, in what else but a converted convent. Aided by the younger and very clever art dealer Mélissa Paul—whom he met on Instagram—Cividino has put together a joint art exhibit remotely, and the two are now taking their show on the road in the New Year.
It all started a few years ago with that fateful Instagram rendezvous. Paul explains, “It’s a pretty funny story. We had been following each other on social media, and at the time, I was doing an exhibition in Paris and Clément contacted me to say he was preparing a show with his house and he liked what I was doing. It felt organic and that we were both doing similar things, so we continued to speak a lot on the phone. We only met in person three months ago!”
Cividino supplied the space, an architectural gem built in 1972 called Chalet Nova. Originally conceived by a firm called Rochel, the chalet was intended to serve as holiday bungalows in the center of France. At approximately 538 square feet with a 215-square-foot terrace, the steel, aluminum, and Lucite building is modernistic and otherworldly in feel. Cividino loves this region and explains, “Access is easy. The airports are Barcelona and Perpignan and it’s a day trip from Paris. And there’s lots to explore and do around here, exploring and of course wine tasting.”
The Chalet Nova is open to the public beginning this week with groups of six visitors allowed entry upon prior booking. At the moment, the idea is to keep the exhibition open until the spring and then pack it up and take the show on the road; the next stop for the little house will be in Paris during FIAC week. Cividino explains, “These structures take up a lot of time and space. I have to find them, restore them, store them, et cetera. I manage to do one big project like this a year. I will continue to collaborate and show with Mélissa, of course.”
When asked where he finds these microstructures, Cividino says he is always looking, 24/7. He knew the Chalet Nova existed and just had to track it down. Sometimes he sees things in archival documents, photos, and vintage magazines, but this one—he says he found it on a postcard!
Source: architecturaldigest.com/