Works of art on Université Paris-Saclay campuses

Culture Article published on 18 July 2025 , Updated on 29 July 2025

This article was originally published in L'Édition n°24.

Boasting 40 pieces from the 1% artistic fund belonging to its member institutions, Université Paris-Saclay also houses sculptures and paintings on loan from the Centre Pompidou, the Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap, meaning National Centre for the Visual Arts) and the Essonne Departmental Contemporary Art Fund (FDAC). All these works of art, often by internationally renowned artists from the 20th and 21st centuries, constitute remarkable heritage, visible and accessible to all.

As you stroll through the various campuses of Université Paris-Saclay, it is not uncommon to come across a monumental sculpture, installation, frescoor tapestry that catches the eye and the interest of passers-by. These works of art are part of the University’s artistic heritage, a large part of which comes from the 1% artistic fund. This legal provision, in force in France since 1951 and extended to universities in 1993, requires all public buildings under construction or renovation to devote 1% of their budget to the commissioning of a work of art by a living artist. In addition to supporting creative work, the aim of the 1% artistic fund is to share contemporary art with all citizens, beyond the regular museum-goers. At Université Paris-Saclay, this system brings art into the everyday life of the entire university community.

1% for the arts brings art to the campus

As part of the 1% artistic fund, a work of art is commissioned as soon as the building is constructed, via a call for tenders to which artists of all profiles can
respond. All they have to do is design a work of art that will blend in with the architecture of the building in question. A jury, made up of representatives of the presidency and the building in question, the architect of the commissioning institution and specialists appointed by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC in French) and the university, then evaluates the artistic ideas submitted. Once the choice has been made and the order released, the artist chosen is responsible for creating the piece.

Forty works of art from this programme can now be found on the University’s different campuses. The oldest date back to early 1955 and the most recent to 2020. The list even includes internationally renowned artists such as Germaine Richier, Alfred Janniot, Robert Couturier, Gérard Fromanger and Jean-Marie Appriou. With the 1% artistic fund, the university is committed not only to financing works of art, but also to maintaining them and guaranteeing them good exhibition conditions. "Our role is to maintain and enrich the university’s heritage," confirms Patrice Godard, in charge of preserving and promoting cultural heritage at Université Paris-Saclay. In 2019, a sculpture by artist Paul Belmondo, depicting Apollo, was renovated thanks to the budget allocated, and unveiled in the presence of his son. 

While some component institutions of Université Paris-Saclay have acquired works of art in recent years thanks to the 1% artistic fund, such as ENS Paris-Saclay in 2020, no call for projects has been launched since 1973 within the employer perimeter. This was achieved in 2023 by means of two different campaigns, one for the H-Bar building on the Orsay campus, the other for the Pascal building on the Moulon plateau. Discussions on the choice of the two works of art to be housed in these buildings were still in progress during summer 2024 and nearing completion.

Heritage enriched by prestigious collaborations

In addition to the pieces acquired as part of the 1% artistic fund, Université Paris-Saclay is a partner of numerous prestigious institutions that enrich its artistic heritage. The Molecular Science Institute of Orsay (ISMO-Univ. Paris-Saclay/CNRS) holds sixteen prints byvarious different painters, as well as a monumental sculpture - Gorgone - by Vincent Barré. These pieces come from the collections of the Centre national des artsplastiques (Cnap), which has been collaborating with the university for several years now. Since 2023, the Henri Moissan site on the Saclay plateau, home to the Biology- Physics - Chemistry cluster, has benefited from a loan from the Centre Pompidou, consisting of the piece Algebrica by Antoine Poncet (photo below), a leading figure in abstracts culpture in the late 20th century.

Some artists, or their heirs, decide to donate their works to the University. Such is the case for Jean Suzanne, whose monumental sculpture donated to the University was installed in June 2024 at the Solid State Physics Laboratory (LPS- Univ. Paris-Saclay/CNRS) on the Orsay campus. Donations of other monumental sculptures by Albert Féraud, Michel Charpentier, René Coutelle and Claude Mercier were expected to follow. "These are often the children of artists who want their arent’s work to be showcased through an installation at the University," explains Patrice Godard.

Street art at the university

Over the past few years, street art has become increasingly popular on the streets and alleys of university campuses. Thanks to a new artistic policy, renowned street artists such as Muziotti, Turk and Twopy are invited to express themselves on the walls of University buildings. Urban artist Christian Guémy, better known as C215, has painted large portraits of scientists and science fiction characters on the interior and exterior walls of CEA Paris-Saclay buildings. This initiative more closely links art and science, two creative processes that are all too often pitted against each other.

Some pieces from the 1% artistic fund

Terra Mater by Alfred Janniot (1963) 

Alfred Janniot (1889 - 1969) was a French sculptor and leader of the Art Deco movement, best known for his bas-reliefs on the Palais de la Porte Dorée and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. In 1963, he created a dreamlike, monumental sculpture for what was then the Orsay Centre of the Paris Faculty of Science. Located in front of building 302 on the Vallée campus in Orsay, this female figure, with an owl and a python on her head and adorned with lush flora and fauna, represents the primordial goddess Gaia, ancestor of deities and monsters. It blends in perfectly with the rich vegetation of the surroundings. Over time, this fantastic, metaphorical creation became a symbol of Université Paris-Sud and now of Université Paris-Saclay.

© Christophe Peus

Four tapestries (1973) : Comme une musique (Michel Seuphor), Optique et lyophilisation (Jacques Despierre), Soleil et sable (Gustave Singier), Torse rouge étendu (Raoul Ubac)

In 1973, four artists created four imposing tapestries for the Faculty of Pharmacy of Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay), at the time located in Châtenay-Malabry. All the same size, they are typical of the abstract movement of the 1970s, but with very different styles. In Torse rouge étendu (Red torso stretchedout), Raoul Ubac evokes the rhythm of ploughing in the fields, using furrows against a solid red background. In Comme une musique (Like a piece of music), Michel Seuphor makes white lines dance against a background of parallel black lines, evoking musical notes. Gustave Singier uses linear projections and flat tints of warm colours, recalling the title of the work Soleil et sable (Sun and sand). Finally, Jacques Despierre gives us a highly dynamic composition in Optique et lyophilisation (Optics and freeze-drying), in which geometric shapes intertwine in blackand white. When the Faculty of Pharmacy of Université Paris-Saclay moved to the Plateau de Saclay in September 2022, it proved impossible to keep these works of art. The University donated them to the Université d'Évry, which now exhibits them in the hall of its Maupertuis building. As well as illustrating the collaboration between members of Université Paris-Saclay, this transfer of works of art shows that cultural assets are preserved beyond the life of the building in which they were created.

Opposite, two of the four tapestries at Université d’Évry : Soleil et sable and Optique et lyophilisation © Christophe Peus

Dans le jardin by Jean-Marie Appriou (2020)

Ahead of its move to the Plateau de Saclay in 2020, and as part of the construction of its new building, ENS Paris-Saclay, previously located in Cachan, launched several calls for proposals under the 1% artistic fund. The 38-year-old French sculptor Jean-Marie Appriou was commissioned to create an ensemble, which today adorns the ponds in the school’s innergarden. Bats and giant dragonflies fly over two basins, while an island of cypresses and a clump of brambles are planted in two others. Finally, in the central basin is a dugout canoe with an oarsman and a seahorse-skin figure. Often inspired by myths and legends, here the artist evokes the cycle of the sun in these east-west oriented basins.

Opposite, the dugout canoe, part of the ensemble Dans le jardin © Tanguy Beurdeley

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