The new Frac Auvergne, located in a renovated 18th-century building after seven years of restoration, officially opened on Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27. The art center's inaugural exhibition, centered on the theme of landscape, features a major installation by Japanese artist Makiko Furuichi, who is currently in a residency at the Frac. This installation is situated on the top floor, known as the caldera, and includes large painted walls that evoke the artistic gestures of Katharina Grosse. Visitors can view the work from a platform that overlooks the rooftops of Clermont-Ferrand, where they might hear the ghostly voices of actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Françoise Fabian from their film Nuit chez Maud. The Frac's collection, largely assembled by its former director Jean-Charles Vergne during his tenure from 1996 to 2023, contains 1200 works, primarily focused on painting and pictorial photography. The new director, Élise Girardot, an independent curator and art critic, has organized the inaugural exhibition, Les mues éternelles, to honor both the spirit and the physical components of the collection, celebrating its uniqueness. The exhibition emphasizes the representation of landscapes and the theme of metamorphosis, with a broader project titled Vivre de paysages that explores the transformation of the natural world, painting itself, and the way the human gaze is shaped by the forces of sky and earth. The exhibition includes works by a range of artists, including Etel Adnan, Caroline Achaintre, Kapwani Kiwanga, Mimosa Echard, Patrick Neu, Didier Marcel, Gloria Friedmann, Noémie Goudal, Claire Tabouret, Josepha Ntjam, and Clément Cogitore. Each piece contributes to the overarching theme of change and evolution in both nature and art. The exhibition will remain open until February 7, 2027. The new Frac Auvergne venue, designed by Ateliers Lion Associés and completed by In6tu Architectes, highlights contemporary approaches to painting through the use of diverse materials, textures, and storytelling. The architectural design complements the exhibition's themes, offering a space that encourages reflection on the evolving relationship between art and the landscape.