Support During Nuit Blanche in Paris

2023 Edition

As part of Nuit Blanche 2023, the Loo & Lou Foundation supported artist Lydie Arickx and her work “Les Voiles de Véronique” in Paris. The 2023 edition marked the tenth consecutive year of the Loo & Lou Foundation's support for this annual event dedicated to contemporary artistic creation.

For one evening, the installation could be admired at Saint-Séverin Church, both inside the building and on its forecourt. The artist painted delicate strips of Japanese paper, known as Kozo, using plant-based charcoal and natural pigments. Transparent and ethereal, the artwork rose to a height of ten meters.

On the church forecourt, the artist presented “The Tree of Life”—an oak tree whose cut branches were extended with Kozo coated in clear resin, illuminated from within.

For more information on “Les Voiles de Véronique,” click here. 

Edition 2022

A l’occasion de la vingtième édition de la Nuit Blanche Paris, la Fondation Loo & Lou a soutenu pour la deuxième fois l’artiste Georges-Pascal Ricordeau et son oeuvre « Drapeau Blanc ».

After taking the “White Flag” around the world—like a flame of peace, a nomadic symbol of hope—and carrying it through iconic public squares such as Tiananmen Square and Red Square in the hands of American actress Daryl Hannah, and after exhibiting the original 12 m² flag at Nuit Blanche 2013 in the courtyard of Hôtel Lamoignon alongside a large skull sculpture, artist Georges-Pascal Ricordeau now presents an enlarged version of the flag. Over the course of ten years, the piece has grown in scale and now spans 30 m².

Installed in Saint-Paul Saint-Louis Church, the project was selected in the “Special 20 Years of Nuit Blanche” category.

For more information on “Drapeau Blanc,” click here. 

2021 Edition

As part of Nuit Blanche 2021, held on October 2 in Paris, the Loo & Lou Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, supported artist Jean-Julien Pous for his projection work Instant Karma.

In this piece, Jean-Julien Pous evokes his deep connection to his native country, China, through the paintings of Line Oshin, animation by Maria Blowers, and music by Audrey Poujoula. The work captures the humidity of summer, the mingling scents of flowers and decay heightened by the heat of the fragrant harbor, and powerful, formative encounters. At the heart of the projection is a tree—a symbol of longevity and immortality in Hinduism and Buddhism—brought to life by the creatures it shelters: crested ibises, bronzed starlings, and bats. The tree is also said to have excellent feng shui.

Jean-Julien Pous (born in 1984 in Wuhan, China) is an award-winning French filmmaker who explores both animation and live action. His work blends French and Korean cultural influences, and he creates scenography, augmented reality experiences, and branded content. From 2013 to 2015, he taught animation at Kookmin University. A trained graphic designer, he also creates visual effects for short films and art films.

For more information on “Instant Karma,” click here. 

2020 Edition

As part of Nuit Blanche 2020, held on October 3 in Paris, the Loo & Lou Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, supported artist Sarah Trouche for a roaming performance titled Attrape-Lune.

The performance, written and directed by Sarah Trouche in collaboration with the dancers of her company, took place throughout the city—starting at the Paris Observatory and concluding at the Musée des Arts et Métiers.

The artist explains that the inspiration came during the spring lockdown, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic:

"On April 4, via social media, I launched a call for collaboration. This call, made in just a few minutes during the full moon, aimed to encourage people to share something other than the virus. I received more than 950 photographs of the Moon, taken from confined viewpoints. At the same time, I was creating a self-portrait. This very unusual year suggests the possibility of renewal. The performance Attrape-Lune projects light that brings together inhabitants, territory, and architecture."

Sarah Trouche (born in 1983 in Bordeaux) is a French visual artist who works through performance, video, sculpture, and photography. In 2019, she was named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture.

For more information on “Attrape-Lune,” click here. 

2019 Edition

With the aim of supporting artists and promoting artistic creation, the Loo & Lou Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, supported artist Olivier de Sagazan during Nuit Blanche 2019, held on October 5 in Paris.

For this event, Olivier de Sagazan presented his performance Hybridation at Les Voûtes, an experimental platform dedicated to contemporary art. The performance, described as action painting, featured a conjoined couple with a sculpted face, portrayed by Alexandre Fandard and Leïla Ka, evolving throughout the show.

Olivier de Sagazan, born in 1959 in Brazzaville, Congo, studied biology and, after two years of teaching, fully devoted himself to the visual arts.

Initially a painter and sculptor, he began incorporating performance into his practice in the early 2000s. His internationally renowned performance Transfiguration—involving sculpting over his own skull and face with clay—has been performed more than a hundred times worldwide (Shanghai Biennale, Israel Festival, Antigel Festival in Geneva, London Mime Festival, among others).

This was followed by Hybridation and Corps-Textes, both extensions of Transfiguration. His performance work has led to numerous collaborations with artists in fashion, film, and music.

For more information on “Hybridation,” click here.

2018 Edition

As part of the 17th Nuit Blanche, held on October 6, Florence Arnold presented a visual and sound installation titled Le secret des signes at Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church.

Florence Arnold creates monumental structures made of waterproof paper mounted on sheathed brass frames, backlit and accompanied by sound. Her airy sculptures come fully to life in darkness and are best understood as “breaths of life.” For the artist, her works “tell our stories and whisper to us to engage in dialogue with one another — this response becomes a bridge between people.”

Since childhood, Flo Arnold, a multidisciplinary artist, has traveled the world — from Africa to the West, passing through the Americas. Splitting her time between studios in France and Morocco, and identifying as a “citizen of the world,” her installations reflect this existential nomadism.

Her creations are made from white waterproof paper, sometimes combined with light and/or sound. The material evokes ephemerality and fragility, as well as a sense of evanescence, accentuated by the way her works appear to float — like clouds detached from any material grounding.

For more information, click here.

2017 Edition

To promote artistic creation, the Loo & Lou Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, supported artist Lionel Sabatté as part of Nuit Blanche 2017, held on October 7 in Paris.

For one night, the Pont Saint-Louis was transformed into the haunting domain of Lionel Sabatté. His installation, Une Île sur un Pont ("An Island on a Bridge"), brought together several of his sculptures, created through highly distinctive processes. While materials such as scrap metal, concrete, plant fibers, spices, and pigments were prominently featured, Sabatté is also known for working with dust, tea, dead skin, nail clippings, and insect molts.

His decaying sculptures, seemingly wandering aimlessly, explore themes of life and death, the fragility of existence, and the uncertain future of humanity.

Lionel Sabatté
Lionel Sabatté, born in 1975 in Toulouse, France, lives and works between Paris and Los Angeles. A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2003, he has received several art prizes, including awards from the Institut Français in Mauritius, Yishu 8 in Beijing, and most recently, the Drawing Now Prize (2017).

His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions in France and abroad and is part of several institutional collections, including the ALTANA Kulturstiftung (Germany), CAFA Art Museum (China), Musée des Sables d’Olonne (France), FRAC Réunion, and the CNAP (France).

For more information, click here.

2016 Edition

For the 15th edition of Nuit Blanche in Paris, themed around an “initiatory journey” centered on love, Pierre Delavie transformed the façade of the Conciergerie. On this occasion, JCDecaux Artvertising, known for its expertise in staging large-scale event canvases, partnered with Pierre Delavie on a project supported by the Loo & Lou Foundation.

A 1,230 m² canvas was installed overnight between September 30 and October 1 on the Conciergerie’s façade, where it remained in place for a week. JCDecaux Artvertising led the project, with Prismaflex handling the printing, Magnum managing the lighting, and Aplomb overseeing the installation.

Pierre Delavie

“This theme of rising, overflowing water deeply resonated with me, as it evokes both the winter flood that affected us all and the looming threat of climate change. The reference to the voyage to Cythera and to love seemed... only natural, and offered a more hopeful perspective.”

Described by Les Inrockuptibles as a specialist in “urban illusions,” Pierre Delavie is the inventor of a kind of art that is seriously joyful. His work constantly plays with reality, raising the question: Are we ever truly certain of what we see? Whether indoors or outdoors, site-specific, monumental or intimate, his goal is always the same: to disrupt certainty and invite new ways of seeing..

The artist has previously disrupted the façade of the Grand Palais in Paris with an architectural "abduction," reimagined La Canebière for a namesake piece that became emblematic of Marseille 2013, and even gave a melting effect to a building on Avenue George V in Paris.

Supported by the Paris Courthouse and the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, which provided the Quai de l’Horloge façade free of charge, Pierre Delavie’s work was funded through a skills-based sponsorship by JCDecaux and a grant awarded by the Loo & Lou Foundation.

For more information, click here. 

Copyright © Pierre Delavie

2015 Edition

Continuing its commitment to supporting artists and artistic creation, the Loo & Lou Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, awarded a grant to artist and photographer Kim Jungman for the Nuit Blanche 2015 event, held on October 3 in Paris.

More than 5,000 visitors attended the exhibition on its opening day alone. The show remained on view until October 18.

Organized as part of the Year of Korea in France and for Nuit Blanche, this exhibition featured two monumental photographs from the artist’s travels across Asia, along with a selection of portraits of women dressed in the traditional Korean attire, the Hanbok.

Don’t miss the chance to discover the remarkable artistic power of this truly exceptional artist.

For more information, click here. 

Costume of Wind © Kim Jungman

2014 Edition

As part of Nuit Blanche 2014 in Paris, which took place on October 4, sculptor Matthias Contzen and actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu presented the project “Planet”—a visual and sound installation centered around a planet-shaped sculpture in white marble lace, exhibited at Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church.

For more information, click here.