In the studio of an offbeat artist!

Richard Rak creates poetry from day-to-day objects

"Look, someone's just brought me a snakeskin and a big catalogue from 1910 containing thousands of fabric samples!" Richard Rak has become a master in the art of collecting eclectic objects, which the artist combines, merges or twists to create fun pieces that are often amusing or offbeat, in the style of Dadaism or Belgian fantasy. The result is this army of penguins, for example, built from shoe moulds and blocks of foam covered in papier mâché. Or this real-fake camper's rucksack, filled with accessories and compartments of all kinds. Or even this collection of asteroids captured at night to create and inventory of the sky...

In the studio of an artist who's hard to define

Inside the splendid gallery opened in 2013 in Saumur's town centre, visitors explore a series of pieces that make up different worlds created by the hopeless dreamer. "People can also explore my studio, a junk room where I store things like jars of pigments, a collection of old wireless radio tubes, pharmacists' jars or a notary's spell book." There's no private viewings or strict time slots for exhibitions here, everything happens according to the artist's mood and inspiration, with visitors welcome on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

Visitors are welcomed in his troglodyte manor

When he's not in town, our man shuts himself away in his Manoir de la Caillère, which those interested can visit at weekends. Located on a hillside, alongside impressive stores of objects, the place unveils a network of underground art galleries over 400 m2 that house the master's works. "I like the darkness-and-light aspect of cave-dwelling, which resonates with the duality of beings, with the marvellous and the terrible." If you think that one of your own objects might please the artist, he may well be happy to adopt it! That way, you'll have taken part in the creation of a delightful fantasy...