Fabrice Hyber. Pétri Pétrifié (Petrified Petri)

To open this vast laboratory, Fabrice Hyber started by researching just one color: golden enoughto give the image of the Ideal Palace in the sun, with grey nuances, to show the passing of time.

Entirely naturally, the first drawing created by Fabrice Hyber is of a stone. The firststone is portrayed as a seed, germinating an idea, a concept, a Palace.

The Ideal Palace in itself has become an artistic breeding ground, inspiring new vocations, giving way to new creations. Effectively, Postman (Ferdinand) Cheval has become a reference for many artists: Picasso, Dali, Magritte, the surrealists, and many more...

Cheval said, "Over the course of several years, and each year, no matter the weather, my work as a postman meant that I walked over 32 km (20 miles) each day. What is a man to do, when he walks alone outdoors, amidst nature, other than reflect on anything and everything? " 

Hansel and Gretel left pebbles along their path. Postman Cheval followed his paths to collect stones.

But walking wasn't the only way! Fabrice Hyber reflects on other remarkable aspects of Ferdinand Cheval's life: the loss of his children, his lectures, his desire to welcome the public, the fact he retrained ... but also his training as a baker!

The Ideal Palace was the moment where Ferdinand Cheval traded in flour for limestone.

The rounded forms he handled were no longer loaves of bread or pastries, Cheval had found his stumbling block. He turned his attention to masonry and’architecture.

Fabrice Hyber loves wordplay. Pain (Bread) is a nod to the first trade of Postman Cheval. The French word, "Pain" could read like the feeling "Pain" in English. A justly applied word for Ferdinand Cheval, who tragically buried his entire family, and who spent 33 years alone working on his masterpiece.

At the center of the exhibition, the artist gives a nod to his older works, The Edible Cage, from 1994. Constructed in partnership with the Bakery of Hauterives, who marked the occasion with the creation of six foot long baguettes, the artwork came to illustrate the genius of Postman Cheval.

Like the Ideal Palace, the structure of the Edible Cage is made from metal stems. In the Ideal Palace, its stems are covered with limestone. In the Cage, they're covered with flour.