Drinking with the gods

Divine nectar, wine is also the drink of earthly banquets shared by men wishing to get closer to the gods. The exhibition lets us discover the many faces of Dionysus, the chief god of wine, and the wealth of rituals associated with him.

Nearly fifty works (including some exceptional loans from the Gandur Foundation for Art in Geneva, the Louvre Museum and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens) will reveal the rich mythology linked to wine and its ritual consumption during ancient festivals and banquets.

At the invitation of the Foundation for Wine Culture and Civilisations, street artists MonkeyBird, Delphine Delas and Rouge will each create a monumental figurative work, echoing the ancient works exhibited. Fully integrated into the exhibition tour, these installations will present a contemporary reading of major myths that have rarely been represented (the myth of Ampelos, Dionysian festivals and Dionysos’ travels around the world).

These installations create a rich dialogue with the ancient pieces and witness to the imprint of antiquity on our imagination. A bridge between our eras that visitors are invited to discover until the end of November.

An exhibition produced by the Fondation pour la culture et les civilisations du vin with Jean-Yves Marin, museologist, and Isabelle Tassignon, curator, Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva, as scientific curators.

MonkeyBird is a collective resulting from a collaboration between two French artists. Investing urban spaces as well as institutions, they have made the mural their preferred means of expression. Inspired by sacred works such as illuminations, stained glass and Japanese prints, they transcribe social themes through the use of animal totems to represent the symbolism they want to express. For the exhibition, MonkeyBird will offer an interpretation of the myth of Ampelos.​

Since 2014, Rouge has been developing a figurative practice - painting, drawing - which she deploys in city spaces and for exhibitions. She works in collage or mural, thus becoming part of contemporary urban art as heir to the fresco and the monument, and also by making urban space an outdoor territory of plastic and political exploration. For the exhibition, Rouge will offer an installation on Dionysian festivals.

Delphine Delas questions our relationship with reality through a dreamlike and mythological world, in which nature dominates a humanity forced to undergo metamorphosis.
Her creations, made up of organic and minimal lines set against monochrome backgrounds, are populated by hybrid or deified characters/subjects, inspired by ancient civilisations or pagan rites. For the exhibition, Delphine Delas will focus on Dionysos’ travels around the world.