Each year Ruinart hands its Carte Blanche to an artist for a fresh interpretation of the Maison's history and savoir-faire. For 2022, Danish artist Jeppe Hein translated his visit to Ruinart's vineyards, bottling plant and chalk cellars in Reims into a short film series and a participatory installation.
Direction and production followed Hein through the vineyards and cellars, capturing the textures, colours and rituals that became the raw material for "Right Here, Right Now" — a piece built around the four elements at the heart of champagne making.
"The essential idea of my work is trying to open up your heart," Hein says in the film. The series follows him through the maison, working with chalk, mirrors and grapes — the same elements visitors encounter in the installation itself.
I experienced at Ruinart a sense of awareness, a sense of nature.
"Right Here, Right Now" travelled from the Palais de Tokyo to the Venice Biennale, Frieze, Art Basel and beyond — a participatory installation summoning earth, water, air and fire, the elements essential to champagne making.
The accompanying film, shot on location at Maison Ruinart, set the tone for the campaign across its international tour and the Berlin Gallery Weekend pop-up restaurant with chef Björn Swanson.