The dazzling gold art that shimmered in front of the Hôtel de Ville in Reims lifted what would otherwise have been a grey and drizzling afternoon.
The artwork, RISE, is a 5-meter installation created by artist Arnaud Lapierre, in the shape of a solar disc.
“I wanted to recreate the autumn sun,” explained Lapierre. “I wanted to create an installation where each piece of golden mirror dances, and at the same time resembles Champagne bubbles, bunches of grapes and also the frenzy of solar particles.”
The artwork was commissioned by Rare Champagne, part of the privately owned EPI Group, one of France’s biggest luxury companies. Afterwards, guests retired to the Residence Eisenhower to enjoy glasses of the prestige cuvée Rare Champagne and admire the understated luxury of the recently-restored building, now an exclusive hotel.
This, too, is an EPI Group project, and it’s a showpiece that signals that Reims and its economy are about to change.
This article first appeared in Forbes and you can read the rest of it here.