Exposition "Au large de la nuit, chapitre 1 : l'orage"

Throughout the school year, the artist duo guided the students through painting, installation, lighting and staging, in partner locations that opened their doors wide to each other's research: the Frigo in Albi, the Bolegason in Castres, and finally the Maison des Métiers du Cuir in Graulhet.

The students brought the fiction to life by manipulating light, special effects, sets, and movement, between appearance and disappearance, like the two artists in residence. The Maison des Métiers du Cuir has been completely repurposed for the occasion, and you can discover it as you've never seen it before!

Off the Night. Chapter 1: The Storm

“There are moments unlike any other where fiction and reality merge. A halo tears a scene from the night. Between deep black and harsh light, time no longer exists and the surroundings are reserved for shadows.” (Sallent&Garcia)

It is to these islands of light on the edge of night that Maroussia Sallent and Laura Garcia dedicated their research during a residency with the Le Lait art center. They envision these areas as ephemeral refuges, troubled spaces-times where reality resembles enough a theater scene or a film shot to allow one to doubt.

By invoking on the one hand the technique and classical history of chiaroscuro oil painting and on the other the intimate relationship with analog video, the artists envisage these moments gleaned from the night as the breeding ground for a contemporary mythology conducive to new allegories.

In Off the Night, Chapter 1: The Storm, the exhibition that closes the residency, Maroussia Sallent and Laura Garcia invite us to explore some of these electric islands in an immersive installation. The aim will be to move through the work, to train our gaze, and to question our relationship with these timeless spaces, created by the immateriality of light in the night.

Exhibition of student and artist projects from May 20 to June 3.
Open May 20 and 22, June 2 and 3 from 14 p.m. to 17 p.m. and by appointment.

Extension of the artists' exhibition from June 13 to 28, 2025.
Open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 13 p.m. and from 14 p.m. to 18 p.m.

Residency shared by the group of visual arts teachers from Tarn ArtsP, led in collaboration with the Le Lait art center, supported by the René Cassin college in Vielmur-sur-Agoût.

With the participation of the colleges:
Thomas Pesquet, Castres
Jean Jaurès, Castres
Le Montalet, Lacaune
Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Lisle-sur-Tarn
Jean-Louis Etienne, Mazamet
Marcel Pagnol, Mazamet
Leon Gambetta, Rabastens
René Cassin, Vielmur-sur-Agoût
and the Bellevue, Albi and Clément de Pémille, Graulhet high schools

In partnership with Le Frigo, Bolagason, the City of Graulhet.
With the support of the Tarn Department, the DRAC Occitanie and the Ministry of National Education.