From Agnès Varda to Giuseppe Penone, the strange passion of artists for potatoes deciphered in Aubenas
D’Agnès Varda à Giuseppe Penone, l’étrange passion des artistes pour les patates décryptée à Aubenas
The article explores the exhibition "Des patates" at Le Château – Centre d'Art Contemporain et du Patrimoine in Aubenas, France, which celebrates the humble potato as an artistic subject. It highlights how filmmaker and visual artist Agnès Varda turned potatoes into art with her 2003 Venice Biennale project "Patatutopia," dressing as a potato and scattering 700 kilos of tubers, inspired by her documentary *Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse*. The show also features works by Giuseppe Penone, Michel Blazy, Valérie Geissbühler Pacheco, and Lucas Chanoine, all using potatoes to explore themes of consumption, waste, colonialism, and the cycle of life.
