The GGL Foundation

The GGL Corporate Foundation encourages contemporary creation and enhances the dialogue between art and heritage, within an exceptional building: the Richer de Belleval hôtel particulier in Montpellier.

 

The Richer de Belleval, located on the Place de la Canourgue in Montpellier, is a 17th century townhouse. It is full of historical decorations and architectural surprises: fountain, stone busts, sculptures, spiral staircases, medieval or 17th century frescoes, vaults and arches from different periods punctuate the composition of this labyrinthine palace.

Acquired in 2017 by private investors, it was restored by the Atelier d’Architecture Philippe Prost to accommodate in 2021 a five-star hotel with 20 rooms, member of the Relais & Châteaux group; the new Jardin des Sens, gourmet restaurant of the starred chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel; as well as a corporate foundation dedicated to contemporary creation: the GGL Foundation.

Created by GGL, the purpose of this corporate foundation is to encourage contemporary creation and favor dialogue between art and heritage by investing in the mansion through monumental and permanent artistic interventions and by regularly proposing temporary exhibitions and cultural events in the heart of Montpellier’s historic center.

The GGL Foundation is directed by Numa Hambursin, former artistic director of the Carré Sainte-Anne in Montpellier, former director of the Pôle Art Moderne et Contemporain de la Ville de Cannes (PAMoCC) and winner of the AICA France Art Critics’ Prize 2018.

As in the palaces of yesteryear, the art has been harmonized with the place. It naturally finds its place in spaces that have remained untouched or have lost their original decorations: the ceiling of a vaulted room, a majestic staircase, the skylight of an Italian-style living room?

The artists chosen by Numa Hambursin were inspired by what has been the soul of the building over the centuries, its symbolic functions, its historical decorations, to draw the material for masterful works, which are at one with the architecture of the building.

In the entrance hall with its neo-classical columns, the American artist Jim Dine, the last representative of the pop art generation, used the ancestral know-how of the Sèvres factory to welcome visitors with a mosaic fresco bursting with color, a contemporary variation of the coffered ceiling technique, and a veritable manifesto that sums up his entire career as an artist.

Under the vault of the majestic staircase, it is the universe of the young plastic artist Marlène Mocquet that unfolds into a Garden of Eden populated by joyful ceramic creatures.

On the ceiling of the former wedding hall, the history of the building and of the city take shape through the hands of Jan Fabre, with a series of coats of arms made of beetle elytra.

The vaulted rooms that open onto the Place de la Canourgue house painted decorations and 17th century plasterworks, rediscovered during the rehabilitation of the building. They were restored over many months by the Atelier de Ricou. Abdelkader Benchamma completed these decorations with a fresco in Indian ink evoking alchemy.

In the boudoir on the second floor of the Hotel Richer de Belleval, Olympe Racana-Weiler has become a prophetess. Her colors are spread from the walls to the ceilin. The Oracle she delivers here is, as always, mysterious and enigmatic. One must read in it the memory of the stories lived between these walls during the many lives of the building.

Ours sponsors

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The GGL Group

The GGL Group has been contributing to sustainable development for over 40 years in Languedoc-Roussillon and deploys its know-how throughout the country. Currently it is the main private developer in the region, GGL designs, develops, builds and manages living spaces that favor urban, social and intergenerational mixes with multidisciplinary teams concerned with the general interest.

The GGL group is involved in all the components of an urban development project: housing (individual, collective, social), activities (crafts, commercial, office, industry, tourism) and public facilities (day nurseries, schools, childcare centers, sports facilities, etc.).

Satisfying needs and anticipating uses in order to meet the expectations of the 21st century and their future developments: these are the challenges that the group strives to meet by getting involved in sectors such as urban agriculture, responsible viticulture, and research and development related to new lifestyles (hospital hotels, mobile applications for financing real estate loans, multi-story parking lots, etc.).

As a socially responsible economic player, GGL continues its action as a developer beyond the simple real estate gesture through sponsorship for art and culture via the GGL foundation. The GGL Stadium (name of the Montpellier rugby stadium) is also an example of the group’s involvement in the life of the city through sports sponsorship.

For more information : www.ggl-groupe.com

The team

Artistic Director : Richard LEYDIER

President of the GGL Foundation : Alain GUIRAUDON

Person Responsible of the GGL Foundation : Camille PALOS

Tour guide : Alba SAGOLS

Production and installation of the works : Backface studio

Videos and photographs : Aloïs Aurelle, Marie-Caroline Lucat, Julien Thomazo, Suncha

Website : Agence Sweep

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