Bursts and Silences: a photography and painting exhibition at Domaine de Rocheville

This summer promises to be radiant at Domaine de Rocheville, with a two-month photography and painting exhibition in the heart of the Saumur vineyards.

From July 3 to September 7, 2025, the eco-responsible estate will host Bursts and Silences, a contemporary art exhibition born from the meeting between Saumur-based photographic artist Odette Bocher and Loire painter of Portuguese origin Cécile Filipe.

Through around forty works, their two worlds—filled with light and silence—respond to and enrich each other, much to the delight of visitors. This is a remarkable art in the Loire Valley event not to be missed.

When photography and painting meet

Both artists have already exhibited at Domaine de Rocheville in the past, but never together. In 2019, Odette Bocher charmed us with her delicate Instants de Vie, while in 2022, Cécile Filipe lit up our white walls with her large abstract canvases.

Bursts and Silences is, above all, the result of a meeting and a dialogue between art forms and creative worlds that—at first glance—might seem opposed. The title itself sets the tone, illustrating how photography and painting can engage in a dialogue that transcends their technical differences.

On one side, the bursts of colour and texture in Cécile Filipe’s vibrant canvases; on the other, the suspended silence in Odette Bocher’s delicate photographs.

Odette Bocher, a photographic artist from Saumur, captures “the beauty in everything around her”, revealing the hidden elegance of simple things. Opposite her, Cécile Filipe transcends reality through her abstract style, turning “reminiscences of emotions stirred by the underlying forces of nature” into strikingly intense works.

What makes this dialogue between photography and painting so authentic is the spontaneity with which the works resonated with each other. “During our working session,” explains Filipe, “we paired my paintings with Odette’s photographs. It was easy and obvious—each painting naturally resonated with a photograph.

Two artists, two journeys

Cécile Filipe : the painting of gesture

Born in Lisbon and steeped in the melancholy of the Tagus River, Cécile Filipe found in the Loire Valley a new source of inspiration for her abstract painting.

After a career in interior architecture, she devoted herself entirely to contemporary art, developing a unique technique that combines acrylics with Japanese paper collages. Her paintings, shown as far afield as London and New York, carry the Saudade dear to Portuguese poets—an emotional melancholy that permeates her work.

Her art belongs to an abstract, informal tradition, where painting becomes a spontaneous writing of emotion. Colours explode, shapes emerge and dissolve in a free dance of the brush. Each canvas is a “space of freedom” where she lays down intuitions, angers, impulses—inviting emotional rather than figurative interpretation.

Odette Bocher : the poetry of the moment

A former schoolteacher who turned to photography fifteen years ago, Odette Bocher takes a contemplative approach to the medium. “Wait, I’m looking”—the evocative title of her website—captures her process: observe at length before releasing the shutter, creating what she calls a “silent dialogue” with the subject.

Through her lens, Bocher captures fragments of eternity. Her work explores the invisible—reflections, textures, fleeting light—favouring a minimalist, poetic, and sometimes almost meditative approach.

Her photographs, often presented as series, function like visual breathing spaces. They enter into a gentle conversation with Cécile Filipe’s paintings, offering a muted echo to the latter’s bursts of colour.

Between shared emotions and mutual discovery

The two artists express genuine admiration for each other’s work. Filipe was “captivated” by Bocher’s The Time That Slips Away, finding in it “a serenity and great spirituality that invites calm, reflection, and introspection”.

Bocher, in turn, was deeply moved by Filipe’s Abyss of Your Soul, a large-scale work “of incredible richness” with “so many possible interpretations”.

Their creative processes also share surprising echoes. Filipe recounts a rare but remarkable experience: “It’s happened twice—while walking in nature, the movement of the sky reminded me strangely of paintings I had already created. It’s the landscape that recalls a painting, not the other way around, since I never depict reality as it is.”

Bursts and Silences – an evocative title

Light as a universal language

What makes this encounter between photography and painting so striking is the way both artists explore light as a creative material.

Bocher composes true “aquatic visual games” where “waves, reflections, and blurs are approached with a calligraphic sensibility”. Filipe, meanwhile, brings “a unique impression of strength and fragility” to her works through subtle layers of opaque and transparent paper.

For Odette Bocher, “burst” represents that cherished instant for the photographer—“the right place, the right light, the spark”—while “silence” is the breathing space that allows emotion to emerge.

Cécile Filipe shares this vision: “The burst is the luminous flash I seek to capture on the canvas, and silence is the empty space left deliberately, like a breath. It’s a fragile balance—speaking without noise, making the work vibrate without imposing.”

As the photographer explains:

‘It seems to me that this highlights the fact that it is not the “technique” that is important, but rather the emotion, the feeling. For me, photography is not a descriptive technique, but rather an emotional transcription.’

The title Éclats & Silences (Bursts and Silences), chosen by the two artists, perfectly sums up this philosophy shared between photography and painting.

For Odette Bocher, bursts correspond to ‘that moment dear to the photographer that makes me say “this is it” – the right place, the right light, the spark.’ Silence, on the other hand, refers to those breathing spaces, those necessary pauses for emotion to fully emerge.

This approach resonates deeply in the work of Cécile Filipe, who confides:

The sparkle is that flash of light that I seek to capture on canvas, and the silence is those gaps left deliberately, like breaths. It is a fragile balance that I pursue in my work: to say without noise, to vibrate without imposing.

An invitation to contemplation

This art in the Loire Valley event celebrates slowness and contemplation. The two artists invite visitors to “take their time”, to let themselves be carried away by rhythms, textures, and the pauses between works.

“I hope they don’t try to ‘understand’—just to let themselves be guided by their feelings,” says Odette Bocher. Cécile Filipe adds, “I hope this journey allows them to dream.”

Their most moving exhibition memories? For Odette Bocher: “The most touching feedback is when someone says two of my photos made them want to cry. That’s a beautiful compliment.” For Cécile Filipe: “A man once stood for a long time in front of a large painting. He then came to me with bright, wet eyes and simply said: ‘I’ll take it.’”

These moments illustrate the power of photography and painting to move the viewer’s soul—beyond words and technicalities.

This sensitivity finds particular resonance in the unique setting of the Domaine de Rocheville, where art blends naturally with the winemaking tradition.

Here, the dialogue between photography and painting is enriched by an additional sensory dimension: that of tasting.

Art and wine in an exceptional setting

Domaine de Rocheville does more than simply host works of contemporary art. Since 2014, with the creation of its eco-friendly tasting room and art gallery, the estate has brought them into an environment where artistic creation blends naturally with winegrowing tradition.

The estate organises five temporary exhibitions each year, in a wide variety of styles—from watercolour and oil painting to photography, street art, wicker sculpture, and drawing. Among the many artists previously welcomed are painters Dany Rodriguez, Sébastien Arcouet, David Ash; illustrator Marilyn MacGregor; and photographers Philippe Siriot, Luc Lortie, and Michèle Lepeintre.

An organic wine producer in the Saumur Champigny, Saumur Blanc, and Crémant de Loire AOCs, Domaine de Rocheville—located near Saumur—offers a unique sensory experience: discovering the dialogue between photography and painting while tasting exceptional wines.

Imagine strolling through this photography and painting exhibition with a glass of Saumur Blanc in hand, letting your senses soak up the interplay of light on the canvases as in the wine. This synergy between contemporary art and viticulture transforms a simple gallery visit into a true sensory journey. After all, isn’t wine itself a form of art?

Set in Domaine de Rocheville’s modern winery, with its bay windows overlooking the vineyards and a panoramic terrace above the Parnay valley, the exhibition takes on its full meaning in the heart of the Loire Valley. The calm of the setting, the natural light, and the clean lines of the exhibition space enhance the contemplative atmosphere of Bursts & Silences—a unique way to combine art, wine, and landscape in a spirit of discovery and sharing.

A selection of works to discover… and to acquire

The Bursts and Silences exhibition-sale features over forty recent works by these two local artists.

Bocher presents her Fine Art prints mounted on aluminium—ranging from Harmony (60×90 cm) to Flamenco (30×30 cm)—alongside her nostalgic Childhood series.

Filipe showcases her latest acrylic and collage works, from Saudade II and Saudade III (40×40 cm) to monumental pieces such as I Graze Your Shadow (80×120 cm).

Visitors are invited not only to enjoy but also to take home a piece of emotion—ready to hang or to offer.

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