Benoît Maire

Born in 1978 in Pessac (France), Benoît Maire is a visual artist. After studying philosophy, Benoît Maire obtained his Diplôme National Supérieur d’Expression Plastique from the Villa Arson in Nice, before completing a research residency at the Pavillon du Palais de Tokyo. Using philosophy, historical texts and artistic references as a starting point, Benoît Maire has developed a polymorphous practice that also takes the form of conferences, publications and curated exhibitions. He regularly collaborates with artists such as Étienne Chambaud, Alex Cecchetti and Falke Pisano.

His research project at Villa Medici is entitled “The hand in painting and printed paper”. His project involves producing a body of work in different media (photography, painting, text, sculpture) that will form an investigation of the transition from the iconic hand of Italian primitivism to the carnal hand of the Renaissance. The hypothesis studied is that the birth of printing at the end of the 15th century contributed to the reformulation of hand paintings, which lost their power of conceptual designation (deictic) and acquired a more realistic affective weight. Benoît Maire’s work is rooted in this tension, as the hand searches between two sensitive regimes. As part of the TextWork project run by the Pernod Ricard Foundation and the Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis, Benoît Maire worked with author Caterina Riva on a project to commission an author’s text to explore the work of a contemporary artist in residence in Rome. This collaboration resulted in the publication of a monographic text and an open meeting with the artist and author.

The Medici Lamp

During his year-long residency as a resident of Villa Medici in 2021-2022, artist Benoît Maire has designed a series of metal furniture elements inspired by the Villa Medici, renewing the pared-down language of existing furniture created by Balthus in the 1960s and by Richard Peduzzi in the early 2000s. Benoît Maire’s “Lampe Médicis” is based on a scaled-down version of Villa Medici’s main building, recognizable also by the sculpted lion characteristic of the Loggia beneath the building’s façade. At the end of his year’s residency, the artist donated the lamp to Villa Medici: it is now on display in the Chambre des oiseaux, Ferdinand de Medici’s former private study nestled in the gardens, which can be visited all year round as part of Villa Medici’s guided tours. The open, airy structure of the lamp echoes the pergola painted on the vaulted ceiling of the room, which, in a play between inside and outside, reveals animals and plants once collected by Cardinal Ferdinand de Medici.