From June 15 to September 15, 2026, the Kerniguez Gardens in Carhaix will host an exhibition by the sculptor Édouard Hervé. Nine monumental abstract sculptures will mark the botanical trail.
From June 15 to September 15, 2026, the Kerniguez Gardens in Carhaix will host an exhibition by the sculptor Édouard Hervé. Nine monumental abstract sculptures punctuate the botanical path.
A recognized artist, exhibited in several French galleries, Édouard Hervé occupies a vibrant space of 15,000 m2. His works (set on pedestals) range from 1.60 to 3 meters, engaging with the vegetation, light, and the gaze of visitors. Designed around movement, the sculptures integrate into the landscape to offer a sensory experience, between contemplation and emotion.
Questions for Edouard Hervé, sculptor*
Come with me, 2026
For a long time, you sculpted animals. You transitioned from figurative work to abstract art. How do you explain this shift?
• This is a question I am often asked. It’s very hard to explain. And as long as I don’t have the answer, I will continue in the abstract. When you create figurative art, you know where you are going. With abstract art, I don’t know where I’m going. There are no barriers; I go where the movement takes me. I impose nothing on those who look at my works, and I impose nothing on myself either. It’s a lot of freedom!
You do say that your art is sensitive to what is happening around you. In a world filled with turmoil, what is the impact of this disorder on your artistic gesture?
• When I say I am sensitive to what is happening around me, I am mainly talking about events that touch me intimately, whether they are happy or unhappy. Unconsciously, I know that my sculptures reflect my inner state. It’s my way of expressing my emotions, while others might do it with words.
Your sculptures are exhibited in Paris, Honfleur, Aix-en-Provence, in prestigious galleries. Yet, at the outset, you did not come from that world... Is this an asset?
• It’s true, I was initially a plasterer, but at the same time, I have always sculpted and painted in a self-taught manner without the influence of an artistic environment. At first, I used wood, stone, and clay, but it is thanks to my perfect mastery of plaster that I was able to embark on creating this work of lines and curves and fully flourish. This material imposes no limits on me to create my originals, which can reach up to 3.50 meters. It’s a real advantage.
You are exhibiting in Carhaix, at the Kerniguez Gardens, in the heart of the Hyères Valley. How did this meeting come about?
• The Kerniguez Gardens, integrated into the Carhaix golf course, were created by Claude Prigent. Initially, I am a casual golfer. Claude Prigent then discovered my work in a hotel in Quiberon. He was sensitive to it. I live 800 meters from the Kerniguez Gardens. The place is magnificent. The idea of an exhibition took shape. Cédric Lumeau, the gardener, is sensitive to art. We quickly agreed to integrate nine sculptures into the botanical path, seeking a dialogue between the works, the vegetation, and the public. I am very happy to exhibit here.
On the Edge, the Cultural Season of the Jardins de Kerniguez
Located at the entrance of the Hyères Valley in Carhaix, the Jardins de Kerniguez are an asset for the tourist development of Central Brittany. A place of passage, a refuge for life, the exhibition by sculptor Édouard Hervé inaugurates an annual cultural program called On the Edge. The goal: to keep the gardens alive throughout the year by intertwining artistic disciplines and creating spaces for meeting and sharing.
The Jardins de Kerniguez were created in 2021 by Claude Prigent, founder of Carhaix Golf and a pioneering company in the recycling of deconstruction materials. The leader advocates for a slow and virtuous development of his activities, reflecting one of his most unique initiatives: the transport, for 12 years, of incineration ash to a recycling platform using a barge towed by a Breton draft horse.
Celebration of Slowness
The Jardins de Kerniguez were designed by landscape architect Michel Gesret. The maintenance of the Jardins de Kerniguez - 750 species and varieties - has been entrusted to Cédric Lumeau. A long-time volunteer at the Huelgoat arboretum, the former nurseryman cultivates a sensitive approach to plants and living beings. Contemplative, he advocates for “beauty and slowness” as remedies for contemporary woes. Although they have a recent existence, the gardens already display a diversity of colors and shapes. Different spaces have been arranged to invite wandering, contemplation, and a sensitive experience of life throughout the year.
“A Gentle Activism”
To bring the place to life, enhance its attractiveness, and develop its reputation, Claude Prigent wished to embed the seasons of the Jardins de Kerniguez within a cultural program. This initiative also has a political dimension. “In a world saturated with screens, caught in logics of acceleration and consumption, it becomes necessary to recreate spaces of attention, slowness, and connection to living beings,” explains the business leader. The long time of the garden soothes and heals. In 2010, Pierre Rahbi reminded us: “We can buy yachts but not the joy of living. Instead of understanding nature, becoming aware that we are part of it, we seek to dominate it (...). Are we on Earth for predation or for admiration? I believe we must rediscover love as a constructive energy. And remember Dostoevsky’s phrase: ‘And if beauty could save the world?’”
On the Edge, the cultural program of the Jardins de Kerniguez fits into this horizon: to make the gardens a place of inclusion, encounters, transmission between generations, experiences, and resonances, at the intersection of art, landscape, and life.
The Jardins de Kerniguez were designed by landscape architect Michel Gesret. The maintenance of the Jardins de Kerniguez - 750 species and varieties - has been entrusted to Cédric Lumeau. A long-time volunteer at the Huelgoat arboretum, the former nurseryman cultivates a sensitive approach to plants and living beings. Contemplative, he advocates for “beauty and slowness” as remedies for contemporary woes. Although they have a recent existence, the gardens already display a diversity of colors and shapes. Different spaces have been arranged to invite wandering, contemplation, and a sensitive experience of life throughout the year.
Guided Tours
with Edouard Hervé and Cédric Lumeau
• Thursday, July 9 at 3 PM • Thursday, July 23 at 3 PM • Thursday, August 6 at 3 PM
• Thursday, August 20 at 3 PM
