Over the walls

The Collection is going out to meet Societe Generale’s employees and clients and the general public, giving its artworks greater visibility. Following on from previous exciting themes such as the connection between music and art or the notion of movement and travel faced with works of art, a new idea was born - to address the close relationship between art and architecture, two disciplines that have always inspired each other. Giovanna Carrer* will be the exhibition curator.

 Societe Generale has paid great attention to and shown great interest in architecture ever since its creation. Its offices in France and abroad attest to this, and are a real reflection of their time: the Central Branch in Boulevard Haussmann in Paris is a true masterpiece of Art Nouveau  (architect Jacques Hermant); the Chassagne and Alicante towers in La Défense won the Grand Prix de l'Architecture award (Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat), and the Granite tower won a Pritzker prize (Christian de Portzamparc). The Val de Fontenay campus is much awaited (architect Anne Demians). Following the inauguration of the bank’s new head office in Geneva in January 2016, a glass building is under construction in London, at 1 Bank Street in the Canary Wharf district, to bring all the Group's staff under the same roof in 2019 and generate new synergies.  
 

VISIONS OF ARCHITECTURE I

Societe Generale towers / La Défense The exhibition directed by Giovanna Carrer* includes a selection of around fifty works from the Collection, based on five pillars of art and architecture: world city architecture (from myth to reality), everyday architecture (from decoration to the ordinary), traces of architecture (from ruins to construction), imaginary architecture (from landscape to composition), and architectural artworks (from illusion to perception). The exhibition ends with an immersive experience on the 9th floor (in the corridor linking the Chassagne and Alicante towers) with the work created in situ by Felice Varini in 1995.  
 

SOLO SHOW BY JULIEN PREVIEUX

Societe Generale Central Branch / Paris Julien Prévieux’s work has been chosen to be displayed in Societe Generale’s historic headquarters in Boulevard Haussmann in Paris as part of the Over the Walls exhibition. Around ten works will be on display, including the pyramid sculpture Pickpocket and several paintings from the Foire aux Questions (FAQ) series, the title of which refers to visitors’ musings about the problems facing society.  
 

*Giovanna Carrer, Curator

After studying literature with a specialisation in history of modern and contemporary art (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice), Giovanna Carrer moved to Paris in 1999, where she studied Museology and Museography at the Ecole du Louvre (2003). She gained experience in ancient art (Galerie de Bayser), contemporary art, design and auctions before moving into publishing with the MODEM guides, where she created a guide on design. In 2004 she shifted her attention to architecture, joining LAN Architecture then Moatti-Rivière as Head of Communication and Development. After working in agencies for ten years she then set up her own firm, GioCa, in order to express and share her cross-disciplinary vision of the world of creation.  
 

Practical information: Visions of Architecture I

Societe Generale Towers, 17 Cours Valmy, La Défense: Free guided tours are available for groups and schools. Please register on the Societe Generale Collection website or by e-mail  visites@collection.societegenerale.com
 

Solo Show by Julien Prévieux

Societe Generale’s Central Branch, 29 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris