Photo: Dominique Piot
Apples and art in a Cistercian abbey TEXT: CHÉRINE KOUBAT | PHOTOS: ABBAYE D’AUBERIVE
Set in the heart of what will soon be France’s 11th national park, Auberive Abbey is a most unusual place. The historic 12th-century building, with beautiful orchards growing ancient apple varieties, also doubles up as a contemporary art centre. Thanks to the vision and dedication of the Volot family, it has become an unmissable spot for nature, art and history enthusiasts alike.
Love at first sight Alexia Volot comes from a family of collectors, with over 2,500 works from international artists and a clear focus on figurative expressionism and ‘outsider art’ – art generally made by autodidacts that sits outside the boundaries of offi58 | Issue 68 | August 2019
cial culture. “It’s fascinating when people suddenly see the potential of a material not traditionally meant for art, such as seashells, peels or fabric,” enthuses Volot. “So what we have now is akin to a cabinet of curiosities.” Her parents had been searching all over France for the right spot to showcase their growing collection. “They looked at castles, old factories and modern buildings, but when they visited the abbey in 2004, it was love at first sight,” she explains. They convinced her to leave Paris behind and join them on their art adventure, of which she is now an integral part.
The abbey’s nine lives A listed monument, Auberive Abbey is a Cistercian abbey founded in 1135 by
Bernard of Clairvaux, the future St Bernard. It was entirely rebuilt during the 18th century, before heritage conservation came to be, and was privately owned between 1791 and 1856. The French state then acquired the abbey, which became a women’s prison for three decades. Between 1885 and 1924, it functioned as a workhouse for minor delinquents and a farming camp for boys, whose time was split between farm work and rudimentary education. It was rebought by monks in 1930 and, by the time Volot’s family bought it, it was used as a summer camp for the works council of Belgian giant Solvay. Saying it has left its mark on the area would be an understatement. Even the 5,000 hectares of neighbouring forests, which will