"Primal, earthy, eternal.
Ochre. Its intense and powerful color conjures these visceral sensations.
Artistic expressions, adornment for beauty, medicine for healing, the colors of cities.
Ochre. This natural pigment of the earth has permeated human civilizations since prehistoric times.
Yellow, red, purple, brown, sienna, umber.
Ochre. Its multiple gradations affirm nature's capacity to create harmony."
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| ENERGY STABILITY 48x48in vinyl on canvas |
Pigment ochre ?
Ôkhra, Conservatory of Ochres and Color is a nonprofit cooperative (SCIC) recognized by the state for its cultural mission. It was established by Mathieu and Barbara Barrois in 1994, bringing together employees, artists, artisans, industrialists, scientists, volunteers, and local authorities within a shared gov-ernance. Situated in the converted industrial site of a former ochre factory in Roussillon of Provence, France, the Conservatory has become a center for education, training, and the transmission of savoir-faire of ochre and the materials of color. Workshops and organized tours on the industrial and geological history of ochres are conducted year-round.
The Mines de Bruoux are the remains of a former mine located in Gargas of Provence, France. Its extraction of ochre began in 1848, and it remains a testament to the era of exploitation of ochre during the 19th century. It is an impressive colored cliff of 40 meters, with rows of 5- to 12-meter high vaulted galleries in the midst of an underground grid that spans 650 meters of circulation. It is open to the public solely through organized tours.
