A Sunday at LUMA Arles: lunch, exhibitions and the bookshop

Hello everyone! I went to LUMA Arles on a Sunday with Greg. We had come to have lunch and see the exhibitions on display that day, and ended up spending the whole day there.

I had already seen the tower in photos hundreds of times, but in real life it is even stranger. Depending on where you stand, it never quite looks the same. Sometimes it shines intensely, sometimes it seems almost grey. I still don't know whether I find it beautiful, but it intrigues me, and that's precisely why I like it.

Arriving at LUMA Arles on a Sunday

Frank Gehry’s tower stands in the middle of the former Parc des Ateliers, but it is only part of the place. There are old industrial buildings, gardens, outdoor artworks and several exhibition spaces. We walked for hours and wandered into almost everything without following much of a route.

I took far too many photographs of the tower, mostly through the trees and from the park. The reflections on the metal and the shifting light worked beautifully with my Fujifilm. I could shoot the same building ten times and come away with ten different images. I had felt something similar while exploring the inside of a duplex at the Cité Radieuse : you understand a building far better once you can actually move through it.

Lunch at the Drum Café

We began with lunch at the Drum Café. The room is enormous, with concrete everywhere and books lining the space. Naturally, before the food had even arrived, I was already studying the covers and type on the shelves.

I returned a few months later, this time alone, to work at the Drum Café on several projects of Minuit d’Orsay. I recounted this other day in my article about the Drum Café at LUMA Arles.

The exhibitions we saw that day

After lunch, we saw the David Armstrong exhibition: black-and-white portraits, contact sheets and illuminated images in rooms that were almost completely dark. I loved the rhythm between glowing screens and photographic prints. It is one of the things I enjoy in museums such as Tate Modern in London : you notice the work, but also the way it has been staged and revealed to you.

We also explored Hans Ulrich Obrist’s archive devoted to Maria Lassnig. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of some of the paintings. The bodies are distorted, the colours can feel rather strange, and the work asks you to slow down.

Finally, I stayed in this part of the exhibition for a long time. I devoted a full article to it. exhibitions by David Armstrong and Maria Lassnig at LUMA Arles, With more photos and my opinion on the two courses.

The LUMA Arles bookshop

Before leaving, I stopped by the bookstore. I could spend a long time there looking at art and design books, especially when color, typography, and craftsmanship are just as important as the content.

I nearly always buy three or four, although I do try to choose books I’ll genuinely return to. I use them constantly when I’m working on editorial design or art direction. A cover, colour combination or layout can spark an idea I would never have found while staring at a screen.

Is LUMA worth a full day?

Absolutely. We arrived for lunch and a few exhibitions, then walked out at the end of the day wondering where the time had gone. Come without an overly tight plan: there is plenty of walking, and it is very easy to linger in a gallery or the bookshop for much longer than expected.

I also leave this kind of day with lots of photos and references for my work. When I create the website for a hotel, restaurant or cultural venue, I always start with a sketch. Minuit d’Orsay, I work from what makes each address recognizable: its images, its colors, the way it speaks, and the details that are noticeable in person. If your site no longer really corresponds to your location, you can write to me here.

LUMA Arles
Parc des Ateliers
35 Avenue Victor Hugo, 13200 Arles
Opening times, access and current programme on the official website.