Sculptor Nicole Farhi and Photographer Maryam Eisler Feature in ‘Woman In Mind’ Exhibition at Dragon Hill Residence on Cote d’Azure

Woman in Mind at Dragon Hill Residence in the South of France, with a dual exhibition of Sculptor Nicole Farhi, and Photographer Maryam Eisler. Based between London and South of France, Farhi and Eisler joined together for the exhibition, and hosted an intimate private viewing and gathering at the extraordinary Dragon Hill Residence – a rare Jacques Couelle property near Cannes – on Wednesday 10 June.

Set against this remarkable architectural backdrop, Woman In Mind presents a refined dialogue between the photographic works of Maryam Eisler and the sculpture of Nicole Farhi, an exploration of the feminine form, thoughtfully curated by Catherine Loewe. A star-studded array of guests including the French ambassador and Cote d’Azur based and international collectors attended the event, which featured an Artist talk, lunch and private view of Farhi’s sculpture and Eisler’s photographs. 

Guests previewed Woman in Mind at Dragon Hill Residence, where the sculptures and photography were displayed en plein air under the sunny Cote d’Azur skies, as well as in the Residence’s interior.

Poetry of form unfolded organically through this quiet visual conversation between the sculptures of Nicole Farhi and Eisler’s sensual photographs, set against the beauty of the architecture and the surrounding landscape under Azure skies.

My lens traced the lyrical landscapes of the body, evoking the Feminine Sublime, where lines dance, curves whisper, and grace is timeless. Nicole gave those sensations weight, presence, and tangible breath. All in perfect harmony with Mother Nature and its sublime unfolding at Dragon Hill Residence.”  Maryam Eisler

Catherine Loewe of Loewe Contemporary curated the exhibition and engineered a subtle and captivating dialogue between the feminine beauty captured by Fahri’s sculptures and Eisler’s monochrome nudes, with Architect Jacques Couëlle’s womb-like curvilinear architecture. The exhibition was produced by Catherine Hunt.

Dragon Hill Residence was designed by the iconic French Architect in 1964 and its sublime beauty, set against the magnificent countryside of the South of France endures. The opening event was a day of beauty, reflection and connection. 

This is the poetry of being. Woman not as spectacle, but as presence; not as image, but as soul, folded and self-held. In each photograph and each sculpted form, we found a shared consciousness, a quiet yet powerful grace.”  Maryam Eisler

Dragon Hill proudly opened the inaugural edition of its sculpture garden in May 2025, further deepening the residence’s commitment to uniting art, architecture, and nature in an immersive creative experience. Nestled in the South of France, the Dragon Hill property is one of five iconic Landscape Houses designed by visionary architect Jacques Couëlle as “inhabitable sculptures”, intentionally blurring the boundaries between art and environment.

Built in 1964, Dragon Hill has counted Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Yves Saint Laurent, Leo Castelli, Yves Klein and many others among its residents, and now welcomes a new generation of leading contemporary artists into its fold, both in the form of the artists-in-residence that cycle through the house and the new artworks now permanently installed in the grounds.

The sculpture garden debuts with an international roster of artists including: Carlos Cruz-Diez, Thomas Houseago, Sir Antony Gormley, Claudia Comte, Atelier Van Lieshout, Gisela Colón, Mimosa Echard, Safia Hijos, and Jean-Marie Appriou. Each offer bold, site-responsive works that extend Couëlle’s legacy of organic innovation.

At the garden’s centre stands BIG TOTE, a three-metre cast iron sculpture by Sir Antony Gormley, first conceived as part of a monumental series exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2019. Rendered in Gormley’s signature cast-iron patina, the work is both imposing and contemplative – a totemic figure formed of stacked geometric volumes that abstractly reference the human body. Stood in direct dialogue with the undulating, handcrafted ironwork seen throughout the house, BIG TOTE deliberately disrupts the organic sensibilities of Couëlle’s designs with sharp, angular force.

Elsewhere on the grounds, Carlos Cruz-Diez’s Environnement de Transchromie Circulaire stands as a radiant embodiment of the ethos at the heart of Dragon Hill. A seminal figure in kinetic and optical art, Cruz-Diez (1923–2019) transformed our understanding of colour as an active, experiential phenomenon. In this immersive circular installation – composed of translucent, multicoloured panels – the landscape, sunlight, and viewer’s movement coalesce to produce constantly shifting visual effects. Originally conceived in 1965 and refined in 2017, the work has previously appeared in Place de la Concorde in Paris, London’s Frieze Sculpture Park, and the Venet Foundation in France. Now, it finds its permanent home at Dragon Hill.

Placed in thoughtful harmony with the organic curves of Couëlle’s architecture, Environnement de Transchromie Circulaire becomes a conscious, reactive installation. Like the residence itself, the artwork responds to the flow of light, the movement of time, and the shifting environment. Cruz-Diez’s presence here underscores Dragon Hill’s vision: to cultivate a space where art not only resides in nature, but is continuously shaped by it. Thomas Hauseago’s bronze Standing Figure, Claudia Comte’s The Big Marble Fire Coral and Gisela Colón’s Parabolic Monolith (Supernova) are also included among the monumental sculptures that now populate the grounds of the domain.

The launch of the Dragon Hill Sculpture Garden marks a powerful new chapter in our vision for the residency — one where art, landscape, and architecture are not just in conversation, but completely entwined. This extraordinary setting, designed by Jacques Couëlle to defy convention and embrace the organic, has always been about more than just retreat; it’s about reimagining how and where creativity can unfold. The sculpture park extends that vision into the natural terrain, offering artists the rare opportunity to shape and respond to the land itself.

At a time when the pressures of the art market can often confine creative thinking, we believe it’s more important than ever to offer artists true creative freedom — the kind that comes from stepping outside the white cube, outside expectation, and into an environment that inspires risk, play, and deep connection. Dragon Hill is not just a residency; it’s a living, evolving canvas where artists can push boundaries and rediscover the joy of making.”

Joe Kennedy, Director and Co-Founder of Dragon Hil

Find out more about Dragon Hill Residence here.