June 11, 2023 – June 19, 2023
There is no question that the art scene in France is alive and kicking its heels. The impact of Brexit has brought new and exciting art spaces across France that more than merit a taste of as the French would say a “soupçon” of the contemporary art scene in France.
ArtTable’s tour will begin in Paris and then we head south to Provence where we will visit museums, alternative spaces, galleries, artists’ studios, and private collections. France has been the inspiration to artists that have given birth to some of the most important artistic movements and their legacy has laid the foundation for artists for generations.
Highlights of The Itinerary
Paris
We could spend the entire time of the tour in Paris yet over the course of our 3 days in this magical city, we plan to get into the flow filled with contemporary art set within extraordinary settings. We will talk with gallerists, artists, curators, and collectors as we visit sites like La Bourse de Commerce or the Fondation Louis Vuitton or alternative art spaces like the recently formed Fiminco. Each day we will have time to enjoy the cuisine of Paris and reflect on our shared experiences.
Avignon
This wonderful walled city along the Rhone will be our first stop as we head south. While it is known for its famous Palais des Popes, there is also a burgeoning art scene which includes the collection of noted gallerist and collector, Yvon Lambert. We will have a tour of newly installed works from his collection. Our day will end with an evening stay at a chateau in the countryside which will provide closer access to a truly unique visit to Anslem Kiefer’s vast studio complex La Ribaute, a 40-hectare site with more than 70 installations by Kiefer along with the exhibition of works by guest artists.
Arles
Arles is a magical town and is one of the most lovely examples of life in Provence spanning the footprints of centuries of cultures. The presence of artists is legendary with Vincent Van Gogh having spent three of his most productive years here. His spirit has attracted many contemporary artists and is the home to one of the significant cultural destinations outside of Paris, LUMA. Created by the efforts of philanthropist Maja Hoffman, LUMA was created on the site of former railyards with many service barns being transported into exhibition spaces with the site being topped by a tower designed by Frank Gehry. Our hotel in Arles will be L’Arlatan, which was designed by the artist Jorge Pardo. Beyond Arles we will venture to Chateau La Coste roaming the hills dotted with large scale sculptures by some of the most important artists working today.
Suzanne Randolph, Tour Curator
The ArtTable tour to Paris and Provence will be curated by The ALIX Experience, a firm that connects women through luxury tours focused on cultural experiences. ALIX was created by Suzanne Randolph, an ArtTable member and established fine art advisor with Suzanne Randolph Fine Arts. Suzanne created ALIX as she traveled internationally on her own to keep abreast of the contemporary art market. As a solo woman traveler she realized that many women like herself could benefit from gathering together to share experience and lessen moments of loneliness as one travels for business and for leisure.
Suzanne loves France and looks forward to meeting ArtTable’s travelers!
Pricing
Member Total Price of Tour = $10,824
Cost of Travel ($9,999) + Required Arttable Donation ($825)
Non-member Total Price of Tour = $11,224
Cost of Travel ($9,999) + Required ArtTable Donation ($1225)
This tour is all-inclusive and includes luxury single-room accommodations, all meals plus wine and gratuities, museum entrance fees and other activity costs, local and international travel. Registration is open to ArtTable members + non-members at this time with pricing as outlined above.
*PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT!*
Catherine Hannah Behrend (Cathie) is the Founder of VenturesinVision, providing customized public art tours in the boroughs for the 92Y, the patrons of WNET/PBS, other not- for-profit organizations and private clients. Cathie has just completed working for 14 years as an Adjunct Instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Graduate Program in the Art Market and NYU’s Center for Applied Liberal Arts. Cathie has Master Degrees in Art and Business Administration from NYU. She also studied international business at INSEAD. She wrote her M.A. Thesis on Christo and her M.B.A Thesis on Decentralizing City Park Operations. Cathie is a longstanding Board member of the 92nd Street YMCA , the Financial Women’s Association of New York and the Simmons College Leadership Council, amongst others. Cathie also completed a three year term as Co-Chairperson of Programming for ArtTable. She founded the still on-going Simmons College New York City Art Administration Summer Institute in 2002. Cathie served under six NYC Mayoral administrations prior to her transition to teaching and tours with positions ranging from managing street and park festivals, to leading the economic development efforts to keep and attract Fortune 500 and global financial companies to NYC. She was appointed to the Mayor’s Council on New Media established to foster synergy between arts organizations and Internet companies and managed the annual Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology. She also represented Cultural Affairs on the Mayor’s Committee on Graffiti. Her last city government position was Deputy Director of the Percent for Art Program in the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs from 1995-2007. Percent for Art mandates that one percent of the construction budget of city-eligible capital projects must be spent on the integration of art into architecture. During her tenure, 125 projects were initiated or completed – many with world renown artists. Her biggest inspiration was working in the Education Dept at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as an intern.
Sonia Romero is a Los Angeles-based artist known for her paper-cut and printmaking aesthetics, which she incorporates into both her fine art and public art commissions. Born in 1980, she grew up in an artistic household in Echo Park before formally studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. After returning to California, she began working as a public artist. Romero was the artist in residence at Avenue 50 Studio in Northeast Los Angeles from 2007-2014.
Blanka Amezkua is formally trained as a painter; she attended the Accademia di belle Arti in Florence, Italy and received her B.A. from California State University Fresno. Her work and projects have been shown in the United States, Mexico, Belgium and Greece. In cultural establishments such as: MoMA-P.S.1, Exit Art, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, Queens Museum of Art, Towson University, Dorsky Gallery, The Taller Boricua, The Block Gallery among others. You can read more about Blanka’s work and projects on her 
Dahlia Elsayed is an artist and writer who makes text and image based work that synthesizes an internal and external experience of place, connecting the ephemeral to the concrete. She writes short fictions for created landscapes that take the form of narrative paintings, print and installation. Her work has been exhibited at galleries and institutions throughout the United States and internationally, including the 12th Cairo Biennale, Robert Miller Gallery, BravinLee Programs, The New Jersey State Museum and Aljira Center for Contemporary Art. Her work is in the public collections of the Newark Museum, the Zimmerli Museum, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, the US Department of State, amongst others. Dahlia has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Edward Albee Foundation, Visual Studies Workshop, the MacDowell Colony, Women’s Studio Workshop, Headlands Center for the Arts, and the NJ State Council on the Arts. She received her MFA from Columbia University, and lives and works in New Jersey. Ms. Elsayed is Professor of Humanities at CUNY LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, NY. You can view more of her work on her 
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in the United States, is nationally recognized for her monumental installations that transform everyday objects into elegant expressions of identity and community engagement. For each project, she amasses vast collections of a particular object—prescription pill bottles, sports trophies, sweaters—which are often sourced through donations from individuals in a participating community. These intimate objects then become the materials for her conceptually rich sculptures, videos, and site-specific installations. Distinguished by her meticulous, labor-intensive process, and her engagement of community, Shin’s arresting installations reflect individuals’ personal lives as well as collective issues that we face as a society.