Conceived as part of an artistic residency at Château de Goutelas, Sylva is a work by artist Jan Kopp that explores the ways in which we look at, inhabit, and project narratives onto the landscape.
In the château’s forest, Jan Kopp has installed three bronze sculptures reproducing branches found on site. Hidden at crossroads chosen by children as ideal places for building dens, these forms initially blend into their surroundings. The eye gradually discovers subtle details: unexpected assemblages, ornamental elements, or almost imperceptible signs that gently shift our perception. Through this trompe-l’œil effect, Jan Kopp introduces a slight sense of disquiet into the experience of the landscape and invites us to observe our surroundings differently.
Without imposing any spectacular gesture, Sylva reveals uses that are already present on the site—the children’s dens, the forest paths, the spontaneous forms of play and exploration—while also activating a deeper memory of the place. The work thus resonates with the “baker trees,” sculpted over time through the repeated pruning of their branches, as well as with the pastoral imagination of Honoré d’Urfé’s L’Astrée, whose landscapes of Forez still bear its traces.
As is often the case in Jan Kopp’s work, sculpture becomes the starting point for a collective experience. Families, local residents, and visitors are invited to build ephemeral dens around the artworks using dead branches collected on site. With Sylva, Jan Kopp offers a poetic, site-specific, and participatory work that transforms the forest into a space for attention, movement, and storytelling.
With the support of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region.
With thanks to Jean-Luc Durand and Pierre Verdier.
In the château’s forest, Jan Kopp has installed three bronze sculptures reproducing branches found on site. Hidden at crossroads chosen by children as ideal places for building dens, these forms initially blend into their surroundings. The eye gradually discovers subtle details: unexpected assemblages, ornamental elements, or almost imperceptible signs that gently shift our perception. Through this trompe-l’œil effect, Jan Kopp introduces a slight sense of disquiet into the experience of the landscape and invites us to observe our surroundings differently.
Without imposing any spectacular gesture, Sylva reveals uses that are already present on the site—the children’s dens, the forest paths, the spontaneous forms of play and exploration—while also activating a deeper memory of the place. The work thus resonates with the “baker trees,” sculpted over time through the repeated pruning of their branches, as well as with the pastoral imagination of Honoré d’Urfé’s L’Astrée, whose landscapes of Forez still bear its traces.
As is often the case in Jan Kopp’s work, sculpture becomes the starting point for a collective experience. Families, local residents, and visitors are invited to build ephemeral dens around the artworks using dead branches collected on site. With Sylva, Jan Kopp offers a poetic, site-specific, and participatory work that transforms the forest into a space for attention, movement, and storytelling.
With the support of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region.
With thanks to Jean-Luc Durand and Pierre Verdier.
