Madame Rachida Dati, French Minister of Culture, has granted official recognition to thierry Ehrmann's Abode of Chaos as a 'total work of art', the global headquarters of Artprice by Artmarket.
The Abode of Chaos is managed by a contemporary art museum baptised "Organe" and located in the village of Saint-Romain-Au-Mont-d'Or just outside Lyon, France.
Rachida Dati, French Minister of Culture - Source : Laurent Vu -SIPA_Ministere de la Culture
thierry Ehrmann in front of Brancusi’s painted portrait at The Abode of Chaos
The Entrance of The Abode of Chaos
« The Basin of Vanities » at The Abode of Chaos
« Ground Zero » at The Abode of Chaos
Trump mural at the Abode of Chaos (Time magazine, Butler, PA, 2024)
This unique open-air museum spans 7,555m² and features a one-of-a-kind museum trail set in the heart of nature. Open to the public free of charge, it was conceived as a total work of art, ensuring accessibility and inclusion for all audiences, in line with the vision of its founder and creator, thierry Ehrmann. It is classified by the Prefecture as an ERP open-air museum. Since its opening in 2006, the Contemporary Art Museum has received 2.5 million visitors free of charge, 25% of whom are from outside France.
In 25 years, the Abode of Chaos has been the subject of nearly 3,600 written and audiovisual press reports from 72 countries. Its activities are followed around the world by more than 10.9 million subscribers on its social media accounts and it counts 720,000 signatories to the petition for its preservation and recognition by France's public authorities.
The Abode of Chaos has three imposing buildings dating back to 1630 that have been completely re-sculpted in an alchemical transmutation that gave birth to nearly 7,200 distinct works of art created by thierry Ehrmann. Each work has its original name, its original medium and its original shape. There are 4,500 laser-sculpted steel artworks, some weighing several hundred tons. There are also portraits, paintings, street artworks, mural engravings, installations, digital artworks created with AI, works of land art and an all-encompassing electronic system, which together constitute a 'total work of art':
France's Minister of Culture, Madame Rachida Dati has officially recognized in a letter dating 20 March, 2025 thierry Ehrmann's Abode of Chaos as a total work of art in the following terms:
"Dear Sir,
For several years you have been practicing a proteiform artistic activity alongside your energetic development of Artprice, the company you founded.
Not long ago, you drew the attention of one of my predecessors and my ministerial services (DRAC and DGCA) to the complex situation surrounding the product of your artistic activity: the Abode of Chaos.
Originally an old farm in the Monts du Lyonnais, you made the property your personal residence as well as the headquarters of your company Artprice. At the same time, you developed a multi-faceted and abundant artistic project on the entire site, part of which has National Historical Monument protection, called "La Demeure du Chaos" (Abode of Chaos). This project, which integrates the architecture of the existing building as well as its surroundings, while preserving and respecting the remains of an old Protestant cemetery, is a total work of art, in perpetual evolution. It's primary artistic objective is to reflect the historical and societal convulsions at the end of the 20th century and the promises and uncertainties of our 21st century. The work is both indoors and outdoors, integrating public and private spaces, notably those dedicated to the daily activities of your company.
Its integrated contemporary art museum offers a hallucinatory and fascinating promenade through the recesses of human memory via portraits of the prominent personalities of our modern era, as well as key quotes, sculptures and architectural extensions that modify the existing buildings. Repurposed car and plane wrecks also play a key role, alongside contemporary 'factories' installed in the park.
I would like to inform you that my ministerial department officially recognizes the value of this unique work, which I understand is in perpetual motion and will only stop evolving when you are no longer."
According to Madame Dati, thierry Ehrmann's work, "is in line with great 'total works of art' like Postman Cheval's Ideal Palace and the Cyclops in Milly la Forêt…
By this letter I wish to inform you that the Ministry of Culture recognizes the artistic value of the work already created and encourages you to continue it."
Recognition by public authorities constitutes the highest point in the process of protecting the artworks of the Abode of Chaos and, with regard to the law, it is the principal factor that triggers the work's inclusion in the History of Art and its preservation for posterity. The different protection measures constitute a subsidiary factor, while the Minister offers a range of legal solutions to allow the transmission of the Abode of Chaos to future generations:
"I also hope that a dialogue can be initiated with State Services and in particular with the Regional Prefecture and the Regional Office of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), in both directions.
The first concerns allowing greater access to the Abode by extending the openings hours that you already practise.
The second concerns implementing the right conditions to ensure the sustainability, conservation and accessibility of the Abode to future generations. I will also ask my services, both central and decentralized, to collaborate with your teams to examine the various legal frameworks that could be used to allow the perennity and transmission of the Abode to future generations: endowment fund, a protected foundation, or a foundation recognized as being of public utility, or any other suitable device."
With great emotion, upon reading this letter, thierry Ehrmann - founder of Artprice, historian and visual sculptor - cannot help but reflect on the extensive study he dedicated to the sculptor Constantin Brancusi:
"Exactly a century ago, the U.S. High Court (Brancusi/USA) redefined the cognitive value of a work of art through a landmark trial involving Constantin Brancusi's The Bird in Space. Today, after 25 years of legal struggle, France, through its Minister of Culture, Madame Rachida Dati, has officially recognized the value of my work, defining it as unique through my artistic creation embodied in The Abode of Chaos and its total work of art. Furthermore, it acknowledges that my work is in constant evolution and encourages me to continue, while supporting its dissemination, conservation, and sustainability. This moment forms a true 'mise en abîme', linking Brancusi's The Bird and his portrait painted in my studio at the heart of The Abode of Chaos. It represents both my Great Alchemical Work and my 45 years of artistic creation. I receive this recognition with deep gratitude towards the Minister of Culture, her team, and all my long-standing supporters, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Abode of Chaos. Today, France, through the voice of its Minister of Culture, is writing a new chapter in the history of art."
The process of recognition and legal protection of the Abode of Chaos relies on in part, on the creation of an in-depth bilingual architectural study titled "The Abode of Chaos: Gesamtkunstwerk & Singular Architecture". This study is now freely accessible to the public at:
The brief description provided in this press release is not exhaustive. The reader is encouraged to consult the typescript for a comprehensive reading of the referenced works.
The study examines the Abode of Chaos from a historical, archaeological, sociological, artistic, architectural and scientific points of view, with the help of international experts, distinguished professors, and multidisciplinary researchers.
This Study constituted the core requests led by Sandra Béchiche – Director of thierry Ehrmann's office, in charge of international relations and heritage conservation, for legal protection addressed to the French Ministry of Culture, and more specifically to the General Director of the General Department of Artistic Creation (DGCA) in the person of Christopher Miles, as well as to Marc Drouet, Regional Director of Cultural Affairs Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (DRAC AURA).
These initiatives began in December 2019 in order to obtain recognition from the public authorities of thierry Ehrmann's total work of art, and to ensure its sustainability and a peaceful resolution to the 25-year legal dispute initiated by the Commune of Saint-Romain-Au-Mont-d'Or, based on town planning law in the face of artistic creation. This dispute was initially protected by the Malraux laws and later by the law of July 7, 2016, concerning freedom of creation, architecture, and heritage. thierry Ehrmann contributed to this through the legal debate he initiated on the status of the artist in France and the freedom of artistic creation.
The surveys, plans, sections, illustrations, orthophotographs for the complete digitization of the 7200 artworks connected to the buildings, outbuildings and surrounding walls over 7,555 m² (generating a digital heritage of 1.2 Terra-Bytes [1 pixel IPTC/GPS DMS = 1mm]) was carried out in 18 months by Philippe Barthélémy, founder of ICONEM (which has done extensive work of the Bamiyan cliffs, Palmyra site etc.) as well as TT Géomètres Experts Group and its 3D Lab. This work was based on the European Commission's standards for the digitization and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation (2011/711/EU).
The study and the complete digitization of the Abode of Chaos was overseen by martyr heritage specialists led by Dr. Nicolas Detry, a specialized Heritage Architect. N. Detry wrote the main corpus of the section on "Formativity of the Abode of Chaos" with reference to the work of Luigi Pareyson. Raphaëlle Rivière, historian of art & architecture and archaeologist, studied the Total Work of Art (Gesamtkunstwerk) and the Singular Architecture that is the Abode of Chaos / Demeure du Chaos with Nicolas Detry. They were both also the curators of the exhibition "The Abode of Chaos: History of a Sustainable Heritage from the 17th Century to the Present Day" in 2022.
Finally, from a purely pedagogical perspective, the notion 'total work of art' (from the German Gesamtkunstwerk) that Madame Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture, has officially recognized in the Abode of Chaos, is an aesthetic concept originating from German romanticism and appearing in the 19th century in Europe. A 'total work of art' is characterized by the simultaneous use of numerous artistic mediums and disciplines, and by the symbolic, philosophical or metaphysical significance it holds. Such projects are born from a desire to reflect the interconnectedness of all elements of existence.
thierry Ehrmann opens the doors of the total artworkLa Demeure du Chaos to Loïc Ballet & Sébastien Chabal for the TV program En vadrouille on March 9, 2025 (France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France Télévisions group, LB Production):
thierry Ehrmann's Abode of Chaos is regularly cited by art historians as the artistic continuity of the Merzbau, a monumental spatial assemblage, the culmination of the 'total work of art' that the artist Kurt Schwitters worked on in his studio and home in Hanover as of 1923.
At the same time, a number of other studies were conducted, notably on the conservation and restoration of the corpus of works at La Demeure du Chaos. The eminent specialist, Simona Sajeva, a civil engineer and international specialist in the conservation-restoration of historic buildings, and President of the International Scientific Committee on Mural Paintings of ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and Sites) played a key role in these studies.
La Demeure du Chaos is regularly included in international nominations for selections such as the Watch List of the World Monument Fund proposed by the DIVA (Documentation Interpretation and VAlorization of Heritage) research laboratory of Liège University in Belgium. The DIVA specializes in conservation sciences for art and architecture under the direction of Claudine Houbart, professor, architect, art historian, and specialist in the conservation of monuments and sites. She is also a Doctor in engineering sciences, and President of the Doctoral School at the FNRS (Scientific Research Fund) dedicated to building arts and urban planning, and a member of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on the theory and philosophy of conservation.
This nomination benefited from prestigious sponsorships including the support of Giovanni Carbonara (1942-2023) - professor, architect and Director Emeritus of the School of Specialization of Architectural Heritage and Landscape at the University of Rome, "La Sapienza", and Special Advisor to UNESCO - and Pierre Hallot - Doctor of Philosophy and Geospatial Information Sciences, professor at Liège University, member of ICOMOS, expert and Belgian Representative of the CIPA (International Committee of Architectural Photogrammetry – Heritage Documentation).
In addition, La Demeure du Chaos has been subject to restoration after thierry Ehrmann reluctantly agreed to the destruction of part of his works to comply with requests from the public authorities. This work was conducted by specialists in listed monuments, including the company Comte (Vinci Group), which, among other projects, has restored the Primatiale Saint Jean in Lyon on several occasions, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The memory of this artistic loss will remain in the martyred heritage thanks to the "Catalogue Raisonné of an Artistic Loss Necessary for Republican Peace" created in 2023, which lists the 450 destroyed works.
Lastly, the dimentions of the "total work of art" of the Abode of Chaos include the global headquarters of Artprice by Artmarket, World Leader in Art Market Information since 1987, listed on the Paris Euronext's regulated market, as well as Groupe Serveur (Artprice's principal shareholder) and its legal, scientific, and press agency subsidiaries (since 1985).
The Abode of Chaos is also home to the world's largest collection of manuscripts, codices and art market sales catalogs kept under exceptionally high security standards. These documents represent the history of the art market from 1700 to the present day, a modern-day 'Library of Alexandria'. All the archives belong to Artprice by Artmarket and they have all been scanned annotated and studied by the company's historians and experts. The company's underground area also hosts its various data centers, hosting more than 180 data banks of art market information which constitute the global reference for art market professionals all over the world, and for more than 9 million Artprice by Artmarket subscribers. Artprice's press agency, ArtMarketInsight, distributes Art Market news with its long-standing partner of 27 years, Cision PR Newswire, to 122 countries and in 11 languages.
Of the many descriptions of the Abode of Chaos proposed over the last 25 years, many art historians have used the term 'total work of art', while others have described it as a "Black Work of hermetic tradition feeding on the Alchemical Chaos of our tragic and sumptuous 21st century, whose embers were ignited on September 11, 2001".
Various studies from different parts of the world suggest that the genesis of the Abode of Chaos can be traced back to first Masonic trestle boards by thierry Ehrmann at the National Grand Lodge of France in 1985, referring to the remarkable alchemical work "The Philosophers' Mansions" by Fulcanelli.
In addition, over the last twenty-five years, thierry Ehrmann's Abode of Chaos has regularly been compared to the famous 'total work of art' created by "Postman Cheval" with his "Ideal Palace". Indeed, the reference work on Postman Cheval's work (published by Postman Cheval's Ideal Palace in conjunction with the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts and the Musée de la Poste in 2008) described thierry Ehrmann as The Postman Cheval of the 21st century(section titled "Cheval and his artistic lineage", page 18). The Postman Cheval lineage is clear and unambiguous, and there exists a cultural tour incorporating visits to the two sites for more than 15 years now.
The Abode of Chaos is also home to more than 1,800 geopolitical, literary, scientific, philosophical, artistic, and historical portraits. The portraits reference personalities involved in 90% of the global news regularly covered by written and audiovisual media around the world, as well as thousands of alchemical engravings.
The international press sees the Abode of Chaos as a "body of distinct works" and as an "essential and unique 'Factory'" that has a key place in the History of Art as the most significant major work of the beginning of the 21st century (see press review, notably the special issue of the The New York Times and Artpress).
It also exists within the realm of ideas. It has sparked exhibitions, debates, numerous books, short and feature films by renowned directors, theses, research, and reverberations across different continents.
In 2024, the 36th Congress of the International Committee of Art History (CIHA) convened in Lyon. On a global scale, the CIHA Congresses have constituted the most unifying events for the entire community of researchers and professionals in the world of art and heritage since 1873.
thierry Ehrmann, CEO and Founder of Artprice declared: "Considering our strategic mission, it is natural for Artprice and the Organe Museum of Contemporary Art that manages the Abode of Chaos, to sponsor the 36th CIHA Congress as one of its principal patrons, with contributions from all of Artprice's historians and researchers. We were delighted to welcome delegates to the global headquarters of Artprice by Artmarket in the heart of the Organe Contemporary Art Museum and its Abode of Chaos."
This extraordinary event for Art History, held every four years, contributed to re-emergence of France, which – according to Artprice's 30th Annual Art Market Report – is now positioned as the second largest public art market in the world in terms of transaction volumes, just behind the United States. In 2024, Paris generated the 4th largest art auction turnover in the world, surpassing both Beijing & Shanghai.
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