Artist Jennifer Guidi Charges Us with Color at Château La Coste

On June 20 in Provence, Los Angeles-based artist Jennifer Guidi debuted her latest sand mandala paintings at the Richard Rogers Gallery within the majestic Château La Coste, currently on view through September 3. The solo show, titled “Mountain Range,” fully embraces the art of the landscape and is displayed creatively throughout the space, which is set upon a serene hilltop. Château La Coste is a Garden of Eden between the city of Aix-En-Provence and Luberon National Park, celebrating a trifecta of beloved art forms—winemaking, art, and architecture. The 500-acre vineyard hosts artists for dazzling exhibitions both outdoors and within five galleries on site. The breathtaking vistas of mountains and valleys blanketed in fields of lavender is a magnetic pairing with Guidi’s hypnotic works of sand and vibrant pigment on linen canvas. 

In dialogue with nearby permanent installations by visionaries such as Frank O. Gehry, Tracey Emin, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sophie Calle, and Jean Nouvel, Guidi’s highly skilled works immerse viewers in shimmering representations of mother nature’s architecture. Building from a base layer of sand and a myriad of pigments, the artist uses a hand-carved dowel as her tool of choice, marking the ethereal landscape with a radiant pattern which flows energetically from an undisclosed energy source. The result is spiritual, sacred, even supernatural, as rainbow-hues ebb and flow like divine laser beams around steady mountaintops. Guidi embraces metaphors of freedom, challenge, and serenity that are imbued in mountain imagery, welcoming viewers to take time with the artwork for meditation, self-reflection, and rejuvenation.

Both suspended within the gallery and set against the white walls, each electrifying painting is a passageway, merging the great mysteries of nature and ourselves. Inspired by impressionists and pointillists in her evocative style, Guidi creates a dreamlike bridge between rock-ribbed California mountain ranges and the softened hills of Provence, designing a universal stage of restorative light, organic forms, and velvety textures. Miracles of Nature (2023) presents a humming sky of pink, turquoise, and violet, while a mossy green summit blooming with pastel-colored life beckons below. A Return to Nature (2022) is a trance-inducing medley of colored sand, prismatic and joyful, reflecting earth, sky, and soul. “Colors charge us externally and internally,” explains Guidi. “I translate these colors into works every day. On an intuitive level, I am guided by the colors in nature.”