Felipe Pantone & Pablo Limón: Casa Variable - Paris

In his work Felipe Pantone stands out as a worthy heir to the 20th century optico-kinetic precursors. With the 'Casa Variable' project, the anchoring in the history of art goes back even further, echoing the notion of Total Art that emerged in the 19th century and probably laid the foundations of modernity in art.

‘Total Art’ or ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ in German, as theorized then, aims to encompass several creative forms. It already fascinated the essayist Tradndorff in 1827, as well as his contemporary Wagner, as a form of search for an absolute ideal in the aesthetic field. In his two essays, written in 1849, ‘Art and Revolution’ and ‘Work of the Future’, Wagner writes about "the accomplishment of works of the future" and underlines his dream of bringing together all forms of art, through theater in his case.

The Gesamtkunstwerk is based on broad values, and even beliefs, which irrigate our world more broadly. The creators who adopted it favor collaboration between artists and different forms of expression with the avowed aim of creating environments, whether physical, made of sounds or other creative ways, with the potential to build a more equitable and perhaps utopian society.

Thanks to Felipe Pantone and Pablo Limón, the visual and chromatic value of what surrounds us is also here put at the service of a total project. More than a work of art, it is also about creating real architecture, a real home to live in. Or, conversely, to build a house, which is activated like a real work of art ... ‘Casa Variable’ aims at creating a fair and consistent unity. But what is being consistent these days? In its form, ‘Casa Variable’ aligns art and architecture with precision. The project also touches on the values that are shaking the planet, from integrity to environmental sustainability through collaboration, but also questioning the intellectual values of art.

‘Casa Variable’ is an experience to be lived, that is felt physically. The union between the work and the metaphor it carries brings together art, architecture and even design in an extremely coherent way. Rarely in the Gesamtkunstwerk has painting been the trigger for such an experience, the completion of which, it should be noted, will be effective with the construction of the Casa Variable. ◼︎

“Carlos Cruz-Diez always talked about living in art,” says Pantone. Casa Variable is to be the embodiment of this concept, with the ambition to create an all-embracing work of art in which everything would be pointing to the same aesthetic ideal, from the furniture to the swimming pool, to the mailbox and even the door handles. Key element in the exhibition, a model of the house presents to the visitor what the actual casa would look like in its final form. Blueprints for each section of the building are also part of the exhibition, “so that people who come to the show,” says Limón, “will have proof that the project is not a fantasy but something realizable.”

“We definitely need to build this house. I mean Pablo has a whole team of architects, and they’ve been designing every part of it.”

- Felipe Pantone

Never has an exhibition presented the language of Felipe Pantone in so many facets, crystallising the artist’s preoccupations with the color spectrum, with movement and transformation into that many shapes, scales and materials. Think, of course, paintings and sculptures. Think also chairs, table, lamp, carpet… A willingness to embrace a variety of mediums, and a desire to make art and everyday life coincide that are very much in line with the early vision of Op-art pioneers like Victor Vasarely, Carlos Cruz-Diez or Yaacov Agam, Pantone’s spiritual fathers, who in their time also made tremendous contributions to design and architecture.