Following the major exhibitions presented at the Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris and at the Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon, and preceding his major retrospective in Leverkusen near Cologne, Germany, GRATALOUP exhibited at the Séchoir à Peaux in Chevreuse in November 2005. This former tannery building stands along the famous Promenade des Petits-Ponts, beside the Yvette canal, at the heart of the historic town.

The exhibition held a special significance in the cultural history of Chevreuse. The Séchoir à Peaux had recently been restored and transformed into a cultural venue through the vision and commitment of Philippe Dugue, then Mayor of Chevreuse, who sought to preserve this remarkable witness to the town’s industrial heritage while giving it a new life as a place for contemporary creation. Tragically, Philippe Dugue passed away before the official inauguration of the building. It was his successor, Claude Genot, who formally opened the new cultural venue with GRATALOUP’s exhibition, making it the first major artistic event ever presented in the newly restored space.

Within this unique historical setting, the artist presented a selection of paintings and sculptural objects, with a particular focus on his Apple Trees series. Through endless variations of light, color, and seasonal change, the tree becomes far more than a simple motif. A symbol of permanence and renewal, it embodies the cycle of life, each spring bringing a new transformation to a subject that remains constant while continually evolving.

Through repetition that is never identical, GRATALOUP invites viewers to move beyond representation and enter a more contemplative experience. Each work offers a renewed perception of the world, balancing memory, emotion, and reflection.

The apple trees are presented alongside other works in which nature becomes the vehicle for a broader meditation on time, knowledge, and human destiny. Faithful to his Symbolist approach, the artist transforms familiar landscapes into territories of contemplation, where the visible world continually opens onto the invisible.

This inaugural exhibition thus marked the meeting of a reborn place and an artist at the height of his creative maturity. It remains an important moment in the cultural history of Chevreuse and in the story of the Séchoir à Peaux itself, accompanying the symbolic birth of the venue as a space dedicated to art and contemporary creation.