Shane McClatchey & Turbulence

A creative hub established in Meribel, French Alps, Turbulence was originally conceived as a concept store by Nathalie and Daniel Munier in the late 70s, before the expression ‘concept store’ was even coined. Their desire was to bring together in one place everything that could stimulate their curiosity and taste.

Reborn in 2023, the legacy of Turbulence is thriving under the supervision of Geoffroy Munier, son of its original founders, who relaunched the initiative last year alongside Anthony Fiore.

The address is unchanged - Galerie de Cîmes, Meribel - and to preserve its avant-garde heritage, the historic concept store has become a creative hub with a bar and a boutique/gallery space. As a result, it has become a generational crossroad and reservoir of curiosity and creativity.

This winter, Shane McClatchey’s painting residency has been an opportunity to dive a bit deeper into what was initiated last year at his first residency. The original idea was to bring some turbulence into Shane’s creative process. From painting the ocean to painting the mountains, we wanted to explore the connection between these two environments.Video by Paul Claverie. Photos by Julien Barbes.

A few words from Shane.

“The sky is a darker shade of blue at higher altitudes because there are fewer molecules to scatter sunlight. The interaction of light and shadow on the surface of snow told me a lot about what I see but also how I see it. Whether I’m looking at the mountain peaks in the distance or the ground rushing beneath the snowboard, the shape of the ground comes from the exchange of light and dark: shadows define the light and the light defines the shadows.

Overloaded with light and color, feeling the earth with my feet and my eyes, both the board and the paintbrush ask and answer the same question: how is this specific line best drawn? What makes a shape beautiful? The gesture of a line is what gives it life - fast and slow, lightness and heaviness, soft versus sharp.

Rhythm is important. Mountains are slow and snowboards are fast, the Earth keeps turning and the light keeps changing. The atmosphere itself was neither friend or foe, more of a reckless acquaintance. Many paintings presented themselves and quickly vanished before I could set up my easel and regain blood flow in my hands.

Traveling tells us so much about ourselves. Paintings and people are defined by their context and woven out of circumstance and I’m so glad to have been put on top of a mountain with an easel. There are paint fingerprints all over the snowboard and my clothes still stink with fondue.”