Through its title, the work proposed by Delphine Coindet borrows from forms of the past and enhances the sculpture's capacity to elicit meaning. Through its form and integration in the Maison de Retraite de Villecante, the work links these references to a more current representation, between sculpture and installation.

A drop of water

By including various versions of the inverted form of the Pyramid in the different elements comprising the work, the artist presents an allegory of water.

The pace of life at the retirement home

Pyramide modulates the sound of running water and the variation of the embedded lights. The artist envisaged several scenarios that tailor the fountain's functioning to the institution's activities, from energetic moments in the morning to calmer ones in the early afternoon. As the patio is a meeting place, a covered agora resembling a public place, the patrons moreover wanted the fountain to be able to mark festive and special days at the retirement home, such as Friday afternoons when small parties are organized with the residents' families, or when activities take place.

Delphine Coindet

Delphine Coindet, born in 1969, lives and works in both Paris and Lucerne. This graduate of the Institut des Hautes Etudes en Arts Plastiques de Paris is one of the leading French artists of her generation. Her work is exhibited in major institutions (Mac/Val; Le Plateau; Delme Synagogue; Musée d'Art Moderne – ARARC/Paris) and is present in large collections (Frac Île de France, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne). She also exhibits her work abroad (Tokyo; New York; Los Angeles; Seoul; Basel). The Domaine Départemental de Chamarande devoted a large personal exhibition to her in 2008. Delphine Coindet was the resident artist at the Cilla Médicis for a year, from April 2011. In France she is represented by the Laurent Godin gallery.