Emmanuel Louisgrand grew up in the countryside, whence springs his love for the earth. In 1992 he graduated from the Lyon School of Fine Arts. After a post-graduate degree, “Art et design, Paysages et Espaces urbains” in 1993 in Rennes, he moved to Saint-Etienne where he developed his artistic research in the Père Volpette allotments. This approach led him to work on the public place, the garden, and the city in transition. His works, such as Allégorie du jardin à la française (Istres), L’Ilot d’amaranthes (Lyon), La Folie du Pav (Turin) and Une pépinière pour la Guérinière (Caen) originate from abandoned spaces. He redefines them, gives life back to them, and a certain magic delights the public when it looks at these perpetually evolving works.

Translated by Simon Pleasance, 2015