L’Atlas is pleased to invite Atelier Goldstein and La «S» Grand Atelier to exhibit the works of some of the artists whose work they support, curated by Noëlig Le Roux.

As an exhibition dedicated to the Bruno Decharme Collection, an exceptional collection of Art Brut (given to the Centre Pompidou in 2021), opens at the Grand Palais, L’Atlas has chosen to invite these two studios.

Atypical structures in the contemporary art landscape, these adapted spaces were born under the impetus of individuals convinced that support could enable artists with intellectual disabilities to develop their practice and emerge on the contemporary scene.

These alternative spaces, with their hybrid forms and the potential to act as pilot projects for the institution, place artists with intellectual disabilities at the heart of their projects, providing them with spaces for work and presentation. The artists also have access to materials and tools, technical and logistical assistance, and a dedicated team composed primarily of artists. These art centers are also places of exchange, where guest artists perform and collaborate through residencies. They are also attended by professionals (critics, curators, curators, dealers, collectors), as well as an amateur public who attend exhibitions or other events scheduled within their walls.

As Baptiste Brun points out about La «S» Grand Atelier, these spaces create «an environment conducive to helping artists with disabilities free themselves from the unthought-of elements of their situation, such as technical incapacity, stereotyping, or automatism.»
The artists who work there are recognized and identify as artists in their own right—and not as outsiders or outsiders—without their disability being hidden. They progress from the margins to the center, acquiring the right to train, to be recognized, and to pass on their knowledge in turn.

While these spaces share a common purpose, they each have their own unique identity, forged by a unique history to which their geographical location plays a significant role.

La «S» Grand Atelier was thus founded in 1992 in Vielsalm, on the outskirts of a small town in the Belgian Ardennes countryside. Far removed from the art circuits of major cities, its director, Anne-Françoise Rouche, chose in 2006 to invite artists in residence to collaborate with the artists of La «S.» These invitations encouraged new collective practices and opened up new perspectives for exchange and experimentation. The richness of these residencies has encouraged some external artists to return regularly after their initial experience for new co-creation projects.

Over the years, La «S» Grand Atelier has become a model of sharing and creative interweaving, where talents flourish freely and the barriers between art worlds are broken down.
Atelier Goldstein was founded in 2001 in Frankfurt by Christiane Cuticchio. After professional experience working with young people with intellectual disabilities and recognizing the artistic talents of some of them that had previously been overlooked, this former set designer and costume designer committed herself to creating a space adapted to the constraints faced by artists with disabilities. Over the years, the studio has grown with a team of artists from the fields of painting, graphic design, sculpture, photography, film, and music. Since the departure of Christiane Cuticchio, the studio has been run by the duo Sophia Edschmid and Sven Fritz.

Since 2013, Atelier Goldstein has also managed its own exhibition space, the Goldstein Gallery, which hosts exhibitions, artist residencies (recently invited guests include Irène Gérard and Michiel de Jaeger of La «S» Grand Atelier), conferences, workshops, and concerts. The studio also supports the teaching of art through the Goldstein Academy, established in 2016. Atelier Goldstein artists Julius Bockelt, Julia Krause-Harder, Franz von Saalfeld, and Markus Schmitz work there as lecturers, teach in primary schools, lead professional development courses, and provide further instruction at art colleges.