Travel to Switzerland to visit CERN and the prestigious art fair artgenève

MONASIA travelled to Switzerland to visit CERN and the prestigious art fair artgenève In January, to start the year off right, MONASIA took advantage of its business trip to Switzerland to participate in two major events: A conference in CERN "From the rainbow to the universe" given by Bruno Mansoulié, senior scientist at CEA-France and artgenève - a high end and internationally renowned contemporary and modern art fair. There is nothing like seeing physics in action to excite and inspire. Everyone knows that fundamental research is CERN's primary mission, but we shall not forget that this laboratory also plays a vital role in developing the technologies of tomorrow. From materials science to computing, particle physics demands the ultimate in performance, making CERN an important test-bed for industry. CERN is where we advance the frontiers of technology. Here you can hear, first hand, about what’s going on at the forefront of physics, and you can see the scale of the engineering and technology required to help us answer some of the big questions about the Universe. Indeed, physics is based on mathematical equations. One of the most simple and yet most famous is E=mc2 which has reached the general public. But usually, their rigorous appearance rather intimidates the non-specialist. However, the equations of physics can reveal beauty and flavour, and even emotion. They possess a delicate balance between form and substance, very much like a work of art mixes the artist's touch and the deep message it carries. Therefore, when we learned about the conference in CERN's Globe of Science and Innovation, that would address a balance between the aesthetics of the most beautiful equations and their efficiency to help us understand our Universe, we didn't hesitate to participate, eager to learn something new about physics and nature from a renowned scientist, who can reconcile what we as a non-physicist see with the vision of a specialist. Moreover, a cartoonist Lison Bernet was present on stage to illustrate the conference live, which added to a more relaxed atmosphere. If you didn't have a chance to attend the conference, we highly recommend you to watch the recording in CERN's Media Archive: https://cds.cern.ch/record/2707221. Bruno Mansoulié even spoke about Monet or Picasso, which brings us to the second event. Every year, artgenève welcomes international galleries and also devotes a large area to public and private collections, as well as independent spaces and curators, promoting a dynamic dialogue between institutions and galleries. The MONASIA association supports, among other things, cultural exchanges through art events. It allows Monegasques and Asian people to meet and learn about their respective countries and cultures through these cultural events. With its 95 art galleries, 15 exhibitions, art videos, institutional curated spaces and private collections, artgenève brings together no less than 125 exhibitions, therefore we could not miss it. Mr. Nefedov, who is an art connoisseur, wished to visit in particular the HdM Gallery based in Beijing and Hangzhou and Tang Contemporary Art gallery which holds four exhibition spaces in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Beijing. Tang Contemporary is fully committed to producing new projects that promote Contemporary Chinese and Southeast Asian art regionally and worldwide, and to encourage a dynamic exchange between Asian artists and those abroad. With their largest space in Beijing's iconic 798 Art District, and as one of the most progressive and critically driven exhibition spaces in China, the gallery strives to initiate dialogue between artists, curators, collectors and institutions working both locally and internationally. The gallery collaborated with Bangkok Art and Culture Center on a dual solo exhibition of Huang Yongping and Sakarin Krue-On. And successfully held Ai Weiwei's first solo exhibition in mainland China. Tang Contemporary also held major solo exhibitions for Qin Qi and Zhao Zhao in Beijing, both considered the artists’ most important exhibitions to date. Recent exhibitions include Huang Yongping and Shen Yuan. HdM Gallery is a leading contemporary gallery with a special focus on Contemporary Chinese Art. Founded on a passion for Chinese art, the first HdM Gallery was opened in Beijing in 2009 - the success of which led to a subsequent gallery opening in Hangzhou in 2013. Founders and partners Hadrien de Montferrand, Laurent Dassault, and Olivier Hervet have garnered over 10 years of experience and understanding of the art market in China, witnessing first-hand China’ s rapidly evolving art ecosystem.We were most impressed by Yongliang Yang's works. The artist depicts scenes from traditional Chinese landscape paintings and calligraphy through the photographic medium using digital manipulation. He exploits the connection between traditional art and the contemporary, by implementing ancient Asian aesthetics and academic beliefs with modern language and digital techniques such as photography, painting and videography. He questions economic, environmental and social issues, confronting his fear of the devastating effects of unrestrained urbanisation and industrialisation in China and beyond. We could not agree more! Inspired by his Chinese ancestral culture and the artistic Shan Shui, he works with digital photography like a painter. Although the predominate form of his work is landscape, a closer analysis reveals images made of man-made shapes in a decaying contemporary urban setting, where, for instance, characteristic trees from classical Song Dynasty paintings transform into metallic lattices and electricity poles and mountains covered by skyscrapers in ruins are threatened by floods. And of course, being in the beautiful Geneva, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, located on the shores of the charming Lake Geneva, surrounded by the Alps and the Jura Mountains, we could not resist to stroll around our sumptuous and legendary hotel Le Richemond. This luxury independent five-star hotel founded in 1875, is ideally set on the banks of Lake Geneva and offers a breathtaking view on the emblematic Jet d’Eau and the highest European mountain - Mont Blanc. At Le Jardin, Chef Philippe Bourrel shares a stylish, light and fresh French cuisine featuring the best of local products. A unique experience starting from the amuse-bouche to Sébastien Quazzola's dessert creations, Pastry Chef of the Year 2019. Before our departure, we got invited to a workshop on opportunities in the Indian Cleantech Sector organised by Embassy of India in Bern, in partnership with swisscleantech, that will be held in February. Swisscleantech is a Cleantech Business Association which was founded in autumn 2009 during the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Its mission is to bring companies together that are in favour of environmentally responsible business practices. It shares know-how, encourages innovation and contributes to a sustainable future.