Mark your calendars! Root Gallery is opening its doors for a special presentation that concludes Lisette Schumacher’s artistic research into the work and legacy of Le Corbusier, a modernist muse. From September 20-22 , Root Gallery organises an open weekend where you can admire the results of this extensive research period one last time: Le Corbusier - Revisited!

Lisette Schumacher is a visual artist with a strong interest in modern architecture. This fascination has led her to numerous architectural sites across the globe, which formed the starting point for new artistic research and series. Late 2017, Lisette decided to focus on the designs by Le Corbusier; an influential French-Swiss urban planner and a pioneer of modern architecture.

The presentation in September provides a unique representation of the development in Lisette’s practice over the years, making visible the different painting techniques, colour schemes and materials that have played and still are playing an important role in her practice.

Opening Hours

Friday September 20, 7 PM - 10 PM (festive opening)
Saturday September 21, 1 PM - 6 PM
Sunday September 22, 1 PM - 6 PM
Friday September 27, 1PM - 5 PM
Saturday September 28, 1PM - 5 PM

For those who aren't able to visit the exhibition, we added extra opening hours on September 27 and 28 from 1 PM - 5 PM.

Location: Molendijk 46, Krimpen aan de Lek

LISETTE SCHUMACHER & LE CORBUSIER

Lisette planned her first trip to visit the impressive Unité d’Habitation residential complex in Marseille, in November 2017. In the years after, her interest in Le Corbusier’s designs have brought her to the sites of the Unité d’Habitation residential complexes in both Marseille and Firminy, the Notre Dame du Haut chapel in Ronchamp, Sainte Marie de la Tourette monastery in Eveux, Le Corbusier’s studio apartment in the Molitor building in Paris, Maison La Roche in Paris, the cultural centre in Firminy and the Saint-Pierre church in Firminy.

Below you can explore a selection of sites and resulting series from over the years. However, there is much more to discover! The open weekend is the is your final chance to view these works, so make sure to not let the opportunity pass you by!

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Sainte Marie de La Tourette chapel

Next to the main altar of the Sainte Marie chapel there are three cylindrical shapes in the ceiling. They appear to float and move. Lisette stood below them to understand how they are technically designed and what purpose they served. They appeared to be light wells, each illuminating the side chapels from a slightly different angle. Based on these light wells, Lisette created the series: Sainte Marie de la Tourette – Crypt.

Triangular Niche Paris Molitor Building

Le Corbusier organized exhibitions of art objects at home, like sculptures, tapestries and paintings from different eras he had collected. He built an extraordinary collection with which he liked to surround himself with and from which he drew inspiration for his own paintings. The niche on the left image once functioned as a miniature exhibition space; a theatre with varying performances of poetic objects.

Lisette decided to take the shape of the niche as starting point to paint. Compositions of rectangular triangles arose with three dimensional clues referring to the spaciousness of the original niche.

Saint-Pierre in Firminy-Vert

In the Summer of 2020 Lisette visited the church of Saint-Pierre in Firminy-Vert, France. Le Corbusier designed this building together with his assistant, José Oubrerie.

Upon entering, a dotted pattern of sparkling stars is visible on the wall above the altar. This pattern is based on the Orion constellation. It consists of glass cylinders through which sunlight is captured and projected onto the opposite walls inside the church. The galaxy in the east facade only shows the interplay of lines on the inside in the morning when the sun is shining. These lines inspired Lisette’s Stellar Waves series.

***Polychromie Architecturale - Exploring Harmony in Colour***

In 2021 Lisette finalised her research into Le Corbusier with an impressive installation which she showcased for the first time during her solo exhibition Polychromie Architecturale - Exploring Harmony in Colour.

Tones varying from terra to cerulean were derived from the Polychromie Architecturale, a colour system which was commissioned by wallpaper company Salubra and developed by Le Corbusier in 1931. By applying a selection of original colour tones to three-dimensional objects, Lisette translated the Polychromie Architecturale into an immersive environment of colour. The distinction between material and immaterial becomes evident. Chromatic and neutral colour tones combined with the flowing, organic shapes of the installation form a balanced harmonious whole that visitors can experience in a unique and interactive way.

Le Corbusier - Revisited: A Weekend Exhibition with Lisette Schumacher!