The new adventures of pastel

Conceived as a sensory and artistic voyage, this exhibition pays tribute to a technique long confined to the intimacy of living rooms, but here reinvented and sublimated. Alongside internationally renowned artists such as William Kentridge and Joan Mitchell, young talents from the contemporary scene - Andréanne Godin, Stéphanie Mansy and the duo Hippolyte Hentgen - exhibit works that are powerful, fragile, poetic or explosive.

This project was born out of an artistic residency led by Pierre Mabille in 2024 and supported by the Frac Picardie. The artist conducted a sensitive investigation in the studios of twelve artists, exploring the infinite possibilities of dry pastel. At the Arsenal, he invites us to enter their world, to follow their lines and gestures, to feel the raw material of color.

The exhibition doesn't just show: it invites you to experiment! Guided tours, workshops for children, teenagers or families, meetings with the artists... Everything is done to make this season a moment of sharing and discovery.

Artists on show: Jean Michel Alberola, Michèle Antoine, Louise Dumas, Andréanne Godin, Hippolyte Hentgen, Iris Kensmil, William Kentridge, Martin Kippenberger, Stanislav Kolibal, Dominique Labauvie, Jean Le Gac, Dominique Liquois, Frédérique Lucien, Pierre Mabille, Stéphanie Mansy, Joan Mitchell, Célia Muller, Aurélie Nemours, Guillaume Pinard, Chloé Poizat, Yves Popet, Ettore Spalletti, Peter Stampfli, David Tremlett, Catherine Viollet

Founded in 1857, the Musée de Soissons displays its interesting collections of archaeology, local history and paintings on several historic sites. Since 1933, it has been housed in the buildings of the former Saint-Léger Abbey. Since 1995, the museum has also had a temporary exhibition space in the Arsenal of the former Saint-Jean-des-Vignes abbey.