Two conversations, the first led by Vanessa Desclaux, curator and art critic, with artists Aëla Maï Cabel and Jérémy Piningre, and Marion Vasseur-Raluy, director of CAC Brétigny; the second, by Vincent Enjalbert and Émilie Renard with Orla Barry (in English)
Many artists have left cities and settled in rural areas, where they are led to reconsider artistic work in a plurality of relationships to everyday life, customs and ways of living. They often opt for a chosen simplicity, questioning the capitalist paradigm and its competitive, cumulative and compartmentalised lifestyles. They adapt their practice to their surroundings—to local materials, rhythms, and sensitivities—infusing creativity into every aspect of daily life, as the boundaries between professional and personal spheres dissolve. Artistic practice thus becomes interwoven with other forms of work—craft, agriculture, or animal husbandry. It is about working artistically and working, all at once.
This two-part conversation, bringing together artists from different generations, will reflect on how an artist’s life takes shape alongside everything else.
Aëla Maï Cabel
Born in 1995, Aëla Maï Cabel grounds their practice in the exchange of skills and knowledge, working across ceramics, performance, publishing, and textiles in the form of installations. Collaboration is central to their approach. Informed by feminist thought and science fiction, their work engages an intersectional and transfeminist perspective.
In 2023, they founded the publishing house Cardon Luneux with Jérémy Piningre, and together co-founded the collective RONCE. Aëla studied at EPSAA Ivry, ENSAD Paris, ENSAD Limoges, and ERG Brussels, and trained in ceramics and various textile techniques. They were selected for the 66th Salon de Montrouge, took part in a residency at Le Wonder in 2022, and received several awards: Coopération, Création et Territoire (2022 and 2024), the Utopi.e Prize (2023), the ADAGP Fanzine Prize (2023, with Jérémy Piningre), and Création en cours with Ateliers Médicis (2024).
Their work has been presented by and in collaboration with numerous art centers and galleries, including Maison des Arts de Malakoff, CIAP Vassivière, CAC Meymac, Centre d’art Ultra, SISSI Club, Frac Île-de-France, Frac Limoges, CAPC Bordeaux, Sans Titre, Praz-Delavallade, and CAC Brétigny.
Jérémy Piningre
Born in 1984, Jérémy Piningre graduated with honors in graphic design and illustration from HEAR Strasbourg in 2009. He lives and works between the Paris region and Haute-Vienne. As comic book author and graphic designer, he explores non-hierarchical forms of storytelling featuring collectives, micro-societies, and non-human characters, addressing both young and adult audiences. His books experiment with unconventional uses of language, blending text-message idioms, inclusive writing, and medieval soundscapes.
In 2022, he co-founded the micro-publishing house Cardon Luneux with Aëla Maï Cabel. Together, they reimagine traditional folk tales from the places they traverse, infusing them with contemporary questions of gender, class, and ecology. They also initiated the collective Adventices, which brings together around thirty artists and craftspeople.
Advocating for a lively, hand-drawn approach to graphic design, he has reimagined the visual identity of La Station – Gare des Mines since 2022 and served as artistic director of the music label Warrior Records from 2020 to 2022. His books have been published by L’Association, Éditions 2042, Matière, and Animal Press.
His work has been exhibited at Galerie P38 (Paris), La Galerie BD (Brussels), Galerie Yvon Lambert (Paris), Les Urbaines (Lausanne), Quark (Geneva), Galerie Valois (Paris), Pauline Perplexe (Arcueil), as well as Frac Poitou-Charentes (Angoulême) and Frac Île-de-France (Romainville).
Vanessa Desclaux
Vanessa Desclaux has been teaching at the École nationale supérieure d’art et de design de Dijon since 2011. She holds a PhD in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London, and her work combines research, pedagogy, and a transdisciplinary curatorial practice.
She has worked with major art institutions such as Tate Modern and Frac Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA, and has also developed independent curatorial projects across France and Europe. A member of AICA, she has written extensively for exhibition catalogues, artist monographs, and specialized art publications. Most recently, she co-authored “elles obliquent elles obstinent elles tempêtent” (Textuel, 2025) with artist Agnès Geoffray.
Marion Vasseur Raluy
Marion Vasseur-Raluy has been Director of CAC Brétigny since May 2025. During the renovation of the building, she has developed an off-site program combining exhibitions, territorial and research residencies, and a new festival. Her vision for the art center explores the intersections between visual art, performance, and literature; the emergence of artistic practices beyond institutional frameworks; and methods of knowledge exchange inspired by institutional psychotherapy.
From 2014 to 2016, she co-directed the independent space Shanaynay in Ménilmontant with artists and curators Ana Iwataki, Louise Sartor, Naoki Sutter Shudo, and Sabrina Tarasoff. Between 2021 and 2025, she served as Associate Curator for the residency program at CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux, where she organized several solo exhibitions—including Niklas Taleb and Phung Thien Phan (2022), Jasmine Grégory (2023, co-curated with Claire Hoffmann)—and the group exhibition Itinéraires Fantômes (2024, co-curated with Ana Iwataki).
This event is part of Trajectories: Artistic Pathways and Critical Escapes, a residency by Vanessa Desclaux, organized by Föhn, a curatorial and critical platform supported by the visual arts sector agreement between the French State, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, and Astre, the visual arts network of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
