Nuit des Artistes, St Germain-en-Laye, France

On May 24, 2025, the historic Place du Marché-Neuf in Saint-Germain-en-Laye transforms into an open-air gallery as nearly 80 artists converge for La Nuit des Artistes. Among them, Arnaud Quercy presents a carefully curated selection of works that bridge his ongoing investigations into synesthesia, musical structure, and urban materiality. The single-day exhibition, running from morning until late evening, offers visitors extended hours to encounter contemporary art in an atmosphere of community celebration and direct artistic exchange.

Quercy's presentation draws from two distinct yet interconnected bodies of work: the Synesthetic Explorations series, which translates musical relationships into visual form through chromatic harmonies mapped to the circle of fifths, and selections from Urban Fragments, where reclaimed materials carry the memory of city life into sculptural and painted surfaces. Together, these works invite viewers into a space where sound becomes color, where discarded objects find new voice, and where the boundaries between sensory experiences dissolve into contemplative resonance.

The exhibition takes place within the broader framework of a solidarity-driven cultural event organized by Artistic'. Beyond the aesthetic encounter, La Nuit des Artistes channels proceeds toward Women Safe & Children Yvelines, an organization providing comprehensive support for women and children who have experienced violence. This humanitarian dimension aligns with Quercy's humanist approach to creation—a practice rooted in the belief that art can facilitate healing, open dialogue, and cultivate spaces of safety and reflection.

Visitors to the Place du Marché-Neuf will find an eclectic gathering of artistic disciplines, from painting and ceramics to photography and mixed media. Quercy's booth features works spanning multiple price points and scales, including chromesthetic watercolors exploring specific musical keys—A♭ Major, A minor, F♯ Major, D minor—alongside figurative pieces such as La Mouette de Montparnasse and character studies rendered in naive cubist idioms. The open-air setting encourages spontaneous conversation between artist and audience, embodying the exhibition's spirit of accessibility and community engagement.

Artist Statement

This presentation brings together two streams of my practice that, despite their apparent differences, share a common inquiry into resonance and memory. The Synesthetic Explorations emerge from my experience of hearing colors—each musical key possesses its own chromatic signature, and these watercolors attempt to make visible what I perceive when listening to harmonic relationships. The Urban Fragments, meanwhile, carry the textures and histories of city life, materials salvaged and transformed into new expressions.

What connects these bodies of work is an attention to what speaks beneath the surface: the silent rhythms within shapes, the inner resonances of color, the stories embedded in discarded things. La Nuit des Artistes, with its open-air format and spirit of community gathering, offers an ideal context for this work—art encountered not in the hush of a gallery but amid the living pulse of a public square.

I am honored that this exhibition supports Women Safe & Children Yvelines. Art, at its deepest level, is about creating spaces where something can be seen, heard, held. If these works can contribute, however modestly, to that mission of healing and protection, they fulfill a purpose beyond the aesthetic.

Logistics

La Nuit des Artistes takes place on Saturday, May 24, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM at the Place du Marché-Neuf in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Organized by Artistic', this open-air event is free and open to the public, with proceeds supporting Women Safe & Children Yvelines. The outdoor venue is accessible to all visitors. For inquiries, contact the artist at

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