Racines | Roots: Œuvres de la Collection Garance Primat | Works from the Garance Primat Collection

Unearth a contemporary art collection that shares a profound connection with nature. Text in English and French.

Racines | Roots is a vibrant art book reflecting the unique vision of a passionate collector and entrepreneur. Garance Primat unveils a selection of works drawn from the heart of her aesthetic and spiritual journey. For her, art is a life-sustaining force: deep roots nourish our being and link us to nature, allowing us to flourish like a tree.

Born into a family responsive to nature and art, she has honed her eye through contact with different cultures during her travels, particularly in Australia and the United States, where she became aware of how everything in the realm of nature was interconnected. This quest inspired her to acquire the Domaine des Étangs in Charente Limousine.

With its ability to question the world and shape the future, contemporary art occupies a special place in her eclectic collection, interacting with modern art from around the world, minerals and wisdom-bearing objects. Garance Primat invites us to trust her sensibility as we explore the universal, where words struggle to grasp the interconnectedness of living things. An original message emerges from the “root” of things, awakening a shared consciousness. This book, built around the etymology of seven key words linked to nature and the universe, is an invitation to let ourselves be carried away by the senses and discover the invisible links that unite us.

Text in English and French.

Garance Primat is a French philanthropist, collector and entrepreneur who has developed her own responsiveness to art that she feels is profoundly in tune with the natural realm. Under her guidance, the Domaine des Étangs in Charente Limousine now welcomes visitors, who come to enjoy art, science and the environment together. Taking over almost 1,000 hectares of unspoilt countryside that include forests, meadows, ponds and permaculture gardens, Garance Primat has developed a holistic approach that combines preserving biodiversity, promoting the rural heritage and a commitment to the arts. The 13th-century château and its outbuildings have been restored using traditional skills and local materials, and now host artworks, residencies, exhibitions and retreats for contemplation. At the heart of this enterprise is a collection of contemporary art that has grown like a poetic echo of the nature that surrounds it. Adopting as its emblem the dragonfly – a herald of metamorphosis – the Garance Primat Collection has now amassed over a thousand works that eagerly create links between the major artists of the 20th century, such as Yves Klein and Pablo Picasso, and the most influential figures in contemporary art: Lee Ufan, Tomás Saraceno, Alicja Kwade, Olafur Eliasson, Anselm Kiefer and Richard Long.

Bérengère Baucher is the commissioning editor at Presses de la Cité. She holds a PhD in French literature and worked as a teacher-researcher before spending ten years at Éditions Le Robert, first as a lexicographer and then as literary director alongside Alain Rey.