From Agnès Varda to Giuseppe Penone, the strange passion of artists for potatoes deciphered in 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.

This exhibition matters because it elevates a mundane, overlooked object—the potato—into a vehicle for profound social and political commentary, connecting local agricultural identity in Ardèche with global art movements like Arte Povera. By commissioning site-specific photography and sourcing potatoes from nearby farms, the show roots contemporary art in its regional context while addressing universal issues of food waste, body politics, and historical migration. It demonstrates how a single everyday item can inspire diverse artistic practices and spark dialogue about sustainability and cultural memory.